Legacy
by RegenesisX
Summary: With the help of Genesis Rhapsodos, Cloud Strife has been accepted into SOLDIER, but between rooming with his arch-nemesis, an instructor who hates him, and trying to discover which of his classmates is sabotaging him, living up to Genesis' legacy isn't going to be easy. Sequel to Making the Cut.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** You read the summary correct; this is the sequel to _Making the Cut_ I said that I wasn't going to write. I was actually going to wait a while longer to post this, but I just have a feeling it'll end up in limbo if I don't post it now.

The **antiRemnants**, Jadak, Yuza, and Zol, will be making their triumphant return, along with a few of my own original characters because I needed an antagonist that wasn't Genesis.

* * *

**LEGACY**

_"I am... your living... legacy..." ~ Cloud Strife_

The paper in Cloud Strife's hands trembled as he read the second line, then read it again. It was impossible. It was insane. ShinRa had made a mistake, unless they really were trying to kill him. But no matter how many times he scanned the page, the words remained exactly the same.

_Roommate: Jadak Avon._

"You've got to be kidding me."

Cloud glanced up at Jadak, who was slouched against the opposite wall looking just as displeased with their current situation. "I-I'm sorry, Jadak—"

"Shut up." Jadak tilted his chin down, letting his platinum blond bangs fall over his right eye so only the left one was visible. Cloud had always been of the opinion that Jadak's left eye was the more intimidating one. "I'm visiting our supervisor tomorrow to get this fixed. Until then, you stay on _that_ side of the room and I'll stay on _this_ side. Got it?"

Clutching the crinkled sheet of paper to his chest, Cloud nodded. It wasn't like he had any other choice.

"Good. And I'd better not catch you trying to sneak over to my side. _Or else."_

The "or else" hung in the air long after Jadak had stormed out of the room. For the most part, "or else" was considered an empty threat. With Jadak, it meant he was still deciding exactly which of the terrible things in his repertoire of terrible things he was going to do to you. And Jadak was the King of Doing Terrible Things.

Cloud took several deep breaths to steady himself and flopped down on the rickety bed on _his_ side of the room. The room wasn't very big to begin with. By Cloud's estimation, it appeared to be roughly the same size as the ones in the cadet barracks. He could probably touch Jadak's bed without leaving his own if he stretched. There was one closet for them to share and there was a community bathroom at the end of the hall. His friend Zack Fair, a SOLDIER Second, had told him the living arrangements didn't really improve until you were promoted to First Class.

But it was alright, because Cloud wasn't just Cloud anymore. He was Cloud, SOLDIER Third Class. Just a little over a month ago, he'd been Cadet Nobody. Now, every time he looked in a mirror, a pair of glowing blue eyes blinked back at him. And he owed it all to Genesis Rhapsodos. Training with Genesis had made for the worst four weeks of his life, from getting pelted with tennis balls to being relentlessly tormented by Jadak and his two brothers, Yuza and Zol, to finding out he was only a pawn in a bet between Genesis and Sephiroth, but he'd come out of it wiser, stronger, and infused with Mako. It was only because of Genesis that he'd even been considered for the SOLDIER program.

However, it was quite unlikely that Genesis would be willing to do anything about Cloud's living arrangements. The limit on Genesis' generosity was very, very low.

A soft rap came from the door and Cloud barely had enough time to sit up before Yuza, Jadak's eldest brother, slunk into the room. They'd gotten to know each other once he'd discovered Yuza had ended up on Jadak's bad side as well for dishonoring the family by expressing disinterest in joining SOLDIER. A few days before the SOLDIER entrance exam, Yuza had decided to accept an offer to join the Turks. As he came into the room now, he wore the crisp, black suit that was typical of the Turks. It looked good on him—much better than a SOLDIER uniform would have.

"Oh, good," Yuza said. His voice was as monotone as ever. "You're not in a body bag yet."

Cloud pointed at the bed less than three feet away from his. "That's _his_ side, and this is _my_ side."

"You're lucky you're skinny, then."

Groaning, Cloud buried his face in his hands. "I'd take living with Genesis over this. At least he'd only kill me if I deserved it."

The mattress was so flat, Cloud barely felt it dip when Yuza sat down beside him. "You'll live."

"How do you know that?"

"Would you prefer that I adopt a more pessimistic view? Because you'll be dead before tomorrow, so you might as well just end it now."

Cloud blindly swatted at him. Yuza swatted back. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"Zol is having a hard time adjusting to the idea of being separated from Jadak and I. We've..." Yuza paused, shifting on the bed. "We've never been apart like this before."

Cloud peeked over at him. "What about you?"

"Hmm?"

"Is it hard for you?"

Yuza was silent for a few moments. His expression didn't change while he thought. "I don't regret my decision. Together or apart, I would still have a burden to bear."

"But do you miss them?"

"Yes, I miss them."

"I'm sorry." Cloud debated telling Yuza that living apart from his mother was one of the most difficult things he'd ever gone though, but the effort would be wasted because there wasn't an empathetic bone in Yuza's body. Not towards him, anyway. From what Cloud understood, the Avon family embraced the concept of "tough love" wholeheartedly.

The door slid open and Jadak reentered the room, causing Cloud to stiffen. All-too recent memories of getting cornered in the locker room and beaten up in stairwells always bubbled to the surface of Cloud's mind whenever he saw Jadak and Yuza together. Even though he and Yuza were on good terms, the terrifying thought of their camaraderie suddenly evaporating lurked as a constant reminder of how fragile the balance of their relationship was.

Jadak shot both of them an ugly look, as he often did when he saw Cloud with his brother. He crouched down in front of his suitcase, unzipping it with more force than necessary, and began yanking out clothes. Yuza gracefully unfolded himself, stood up, and knelt down behind Jadak to wrap his arms around his little brother's waist. He murmured something, too quietly for Cloud to hear, but whatever it was made Jadak twist around to cling tightly to Yuza. Cloud caught a flash of light glimmering off of Jadak's watering eyes just before he buried his face in Yuza's shoulder. Even though he knew he was witnessing an incredibly private moment between the two, Cloud found himself unable to look away. When they pulled apart, Yuza reached out to wipe away the tear that ran down Jadak's cheek. Jadak swept his hand away.

Yuza stood up, straightening his jacket, and turned to Cloud as if nothing had happened. "I'll see you?" He tilted his head questioningly.

Unable to speak, Cloud just nodded.

The cramped room felt unbearably empty after Yuza left. Sniffling behind his hand, Jadak pinned Cloud with a hard glare. "I hate you."

Cloud made an executive decision to let Jadak unpack in peace.

* * *

It was odd to be able to walk freely around the SOLDIER floor and not feel out of place. The other Thirds and Seconds ignored him instead of giving him condescending looks for having the audacity to set foot on _their_ floor because it was _his_ floor now, too. With a renewed sense of accomplishment, Cloud knocked twice on the door to Genesis' office before stepping inside.

The office had become a second home to him. After successfully passing his exam, Genesis had allowed Cloud to start doing his coursework in the office while he worked on mission reports, other paperwork, or played games on his computer. He'd spent two nights in Genesis apartment, sleeping on his couch, while he recovered from his Mako injections. Since then, they had spent much of their time in each others' company, regardless of whether or not they needed to be. Cloud had developed a fondness for the deep maroon hue of the office walls, the half-dead fern on the corner by the door, the dozen or so copies of _LOVELESS_ on the bookshelf, and the can openers littered about the room.

He approached the ornate ebony desk and sat down on the corner, where a space had been cleared for him amongst the papers. Genesis was lethargically prodding at his keyboard, forcing words to appear on the computer screen. Cloud watched him for a few minutes until Genesis turned away from the screen in disgust.

"Lazard complained that my last report was too short, so he's given me a bloody word-count requirement," he grumbled. "You'd think someone like him would appreciate a concise report, but noooo..."

"Why don't you write it in a poem instead?"

Genesis brightened considerably and began to search his desk for a clean sheet of paper. "What a brilliant idea. Why didn't I think of that? Have you seen my good pen?"

"Underneath that report to Scarlet. And I think there's still paper in the bottom drawer."

"Ah." Genesis retrieved the items and began hastily scribbling on the paper. "What it is it you came to tell me?"

"I can wait if you're busy..."

"You only ever keep your hands in your lap if you have something on your mind because it makes you fidget."

Cloud's eyebrows shot up. "You noticed?" Not even his own mother was that perceptive.

"I notice everything. Hurry up and spit it out while I'm still listening."

"Well..." Cloud swung his legs a few times, then quickly stopped when it looked like Genesis was going to threaten to shoot off his kneecaps again. "I got my room assignment today."

"And who did the fates stick you with?"

"Jadak."

"I don't know if I've ever met anyone with such reliably consistent bad luck."

Cloud pursed his lips into a thin line. "Thanks."

"Anytime, my dear." Genesis leaned back in his chair, tapping his pen against his chin. "Can you think of anything that rhymes with 'group?'"

"Poop?" was the first thing out of Cloud's mouth.

Genesis' deadpan expression told Cloud exactly what he thought of that suggestion, but the word was written down nonetheless. "Lazard is going to blacklist me from every establishment that sells alcoholic beverages until I'm thirty," he muttered under his breath. "I can only assume that by your telling me this, you expect me to offer you some sage advice on how to deal with Jadak?"

"I thought I'd better get a second opinion on a suggestion to kill myself."

"That would certainly solve your problem, wouldn't it?" Genesis cracked a wry smile. "Do you want to know what I think?"

Cloud nodded. Harsh as he could be, Genesis' honesty was one of the things he valued the most.

"There isn't anything you can do to change Jadak's feelings towards you, so instead of following advice-columnist bullshit and trying to make nice with him, just stay the hell out of his way. The less time you spend together, the more time you'll have to concentrate on your training."

Since it was unlikely Jadak would actively seek him out now that they were roommates, and even more unlikely if he was separated from Zol and Yuza, Genesis made a fair argument. He would just have to live outside of his room, that was all. "Who was your roommate when you were a Third?"

"Angeal."

"Oh. That must've been fun, rooming with your best friend."

Genesis' face twisted into an ugly scowl. "No. It wasn't," he snapped. "The only reason he's so good at lecturing now is because he practiced on _me_ while we were Thirds. It's a miracle I didn't strangle him to death, and it wasn't from lack of trying on my part."

"What did you do?" Cloud asked, eyes wide.

"Sephiroth pulled some strings when we were promoted to Second Class and I was allowed to room with him instead." Genesis smiled again, as if reminiscing. "I have no idea what the hell he was thinking, considering I was a hot mess back then, but I suppose that's the bitter irony of it all. The one person I've always resented is the one person I can put up with." He shifted his focus to Cloud, gazing thoughtfully. "You're a lot like him."

"M-me?" Cloud squeaked. "But I'm short and uncoordinated and my hair is gravitationally challenged."

"It's not that. You're... patient. Understanding." As soon as the words left his mouth, Genesis closed up again. Shaking his head, he returned to his poem. "You're welcome here anytime."

"Thanks," Cloud said automatically, even though he wasn't really listening anymore. Genesis equated him to Sephiroth?

* * *

Their classes as SOLDIER Thirds officially began the next morning, and Hell had already broken loose before it was even 7:15. After Jadak finally shut his screaming alarm up by pitching it across the room into the closet door, he and Cloud pulled on enough clothing to be presentable leaving their room only to find the hallway was teeming with frantic Thirds darting about like chocobos on fire. Cloud's eyes threatened to pop out of his skull when a guy twice his height and four times his body mass hurtled past, but Jadak confidently thrust himself into the flow of testosterone without hesitation. They might've been adolescent mortal enemies, but Cloud wasn't going to let Jadak's ability to bulldoze his way through traffic go to waste. He hurried after his roommate, tailing Jadak all the way down to the bathroom.

The bathroom turned out to be just as crowded. Jadak, being Jadak, muscled his way to a sink so he could brush his teeth. Cloud was forced to wait patiently in line to use a toilet and ponder why ShinRa hadn't added a second bathroom. When a stall finally opened up, he had to plug his nose and pretend the liquid on the floor was _just_ water. Even the bathrooms in the barracks hadn't been this bad.

Predictably, a fight broke out over whose turn it was to use the toilet. The yelling rose to a fever pitch until Cloud saw one guy take a swing at the other in the reflection of the mirror as he stepped up to the sink. Squeezing soap onto his hands, Cloud began formulating the letter he would write to director Lazard about adding a second bathroom until a hand grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him backwards. The guy who'd thrown the first punch crashed into the sink where Cloud had been standing a second ago. Cloud twisted around to thank whoever had saved him and came face to face with Jadak.

Jadak scoffed, folding his arms across his chest. "You can't keep yourself out of trouble for five minutes, can you, _Brother?"_ Then he turned around and stalked out of the bathroom.

Cloud remained rooted to the spot, hands still dripping wet, and stared after Jadak in shock. Jadak, his arch-nemesis, had just saved him from getting flattened into a sink. He pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming, but even though he felt the pain, he wasn't so sure this wasn't a hallucination. Activity in the bathroom didn't halt, however, and Cloud was quickly jostled out of his daze by Thirds fighting for the sinks. Wiping his hands on his pants, Cloud hurried out of the bathroom before anything else could happen.

* * *

Cloud's new instructor did not smile.

He was of small stature, with ash blond hair that reached his waist. The brunt of it was tied back, leaving the shorter strands to hang around his face. He wore a knee-length, grey and white striped coat over a black button-up with ruffles down the front, and his boots had a heel to them—most likely to add extra height. But for all that dramatic flair, the man's expression remained deadpan.

"Good morning," he drawled in a bored tone. "My name is Noir Décès, but you may call me _'sir.'"_

"Oh my God," the Third on Cloud's immediate right—a tall boy with black hair—whispered. "He's _so_ hot."

Cloud almost choked on his spit, barely managing to keep his eyes on their instructor.

"For those of you that are intellectually or visually impaired, this class is section G1. If you have wandered in here by mistake, then I invite you to please remove yourselves immediately because, frankly, the time I'm spending on you now is more time than you deserve."

For a moment, no one moved. Then, two Thirds broke away from the line and sheepishly headed towards the door. Noir rolled his eyes and sighed noisily, causing them to pick up their paces.

"Now that we are free of uninvited visitors, we may begin." Noir folded his arms across his chest and scanned the line of Thirds. Cloud's stomach flipped when his icy gaze passed over him. "The reason all of you are in this class is because the powers that be believe you're special, but you'll be happy to hear that I'm determined to prove them wrong because I hate you."

The tension in the line of Thirds suddenly broke out in a cold sweat of unease. Cloud placed an inconspicuous hand over his stomach in the hopes of keeping it from ejecting itself from his body.

"My hatred is deeply personal towards each and every one of you, and if you choose to get intimate with it over the next few months, it will be your funeral," Noir said. "G1 was designed for prospective Firsts and seeing as I am not particularly impressed by anyone here, I intend to fail all of you."

Noir pulled out a small tablet from within the recesses of his coat and held it up so the Thirds could see it.

"This little device is my best friend, and thus your worst enemy. You will be graded in this class via a point system. Successfully completing tasks and mastering skills will earn you points. Obtaining points in certain areas will grant you access to new materia and allow you to move on to new fighting techniques. You can lose points by failing to complete objectives, being absent or tardy to class, destroying equipment, and getting on my nerves.

"At the end of each week, I will present to you a challenge to assess your progress. This is your chance to make up for points you've lost; extra points will be awarded for completing my challenges. If you fail... Well, I'll keep that a surprise."

Noir slipped his tablet back into his coat and clasped his hands behind him. He strode forward at a languid pace, the clicks of his heels echoing through the room, and walked down the line of Thirds, surveying them all with a critical eye.

"If, at any point, you realize how woefully unprepared you are, you are free to transfer out of the class. None of you will be missed."

As Noir continued down the line, his blank expression reflected just how unimpressed he was with them. Cloud tried his hardest not to flinch away when Noir made eye-contact with him. Davis had been full of empty threats and he'd never been truly afraid of Genesis to begin with, but there was something in Noir's eyes that sparked Cloud's instinct to flee. Noir really _did_ hate them.

Cloud nearly fainted when Noir stopped in front of him.

Noir folded one arm across his chest, tilting his head as he tapped his chin. "You're Genesis Rhapsodos' cadet, aren't you?"

"U-Um..." _How did he know?_ "Y-yes, sir. Cloud Strife, sir."

Noir repeated his name, as if testing out the sound. "You've got quite the legacy to live up to, then, don't you?" he mused. "I don't think I've ever hated anyone on sight as much as I hate you. It will truly be a pleasure to fail you, Mister Strife."

* * *

**A/N:** And off we go on yet another perilous journey. Noir Décès is the first of a small group of OCs that will appear in this story. As with _Making the Cut,_ I will be exploring new frontiers in my writing with _Legacy _(so that means I have no idea what I'm doing, but everything will be fine). Genesis and Sephiroth will also be making a large contribution to the plot, which will be introduced in the next chapter.

If you ever happen to be curious about what I'm writing/editing/wasting my time with, I have a Twitter page that I like to spam. The link to that is in my profile.

Thank you so, so much for reading!

**_RegenesisX_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Shorter chapter, but I had a specific place I wanted to end it. I also make no apologies for Vivien, but I will give you a fair warning that he ended up a little more... flamboyant than expected.

* * *

**LEGACY**

_"My soul hath endured torment to find the end of the journey in my own salvation... and your eternal slumber." ~ LOVELESS, Act IV_

"You know Commander Rhapsodos?"

Cloud's shirt was halfway over his head when he heard a voice off to his left. He peeked out through the bottom of his white t-shirt and saw the guy who had been standing next to him during Noir's introductory speech leaning against the lockers. He was nearly a head taller than Cloud, with long black hair tied back in a sloppy bun, and his eyes sported suspiciously long eyelashes. The grin on his face held just enough curiosity to make Cloud wary.

"U-um, yeah," he replied, pulling his shirt the rest of the way on. "Yeah, I know him."

"Are you having sex?"

Of all the questions Cloud had anticipated being asked with regards to Genesis, that was _not_ one of them. "Uh, no?"

The guy tilted his head and raised his eyebrows, as if something about Cloud's response surprised him. "You don't sound too sure. Maybe you're just not there yet?"

"No, we're not. S-sleeping together, I mean." Cloud could feel his cheeks heating up in embarrassment because he'd never had to explain that he wasn't in a relationship with his superior officer before. "He's just been training me."

"Oh." The guy had the audacity to look disappointed. "Well, that's boring. And here I was hoping for something scandalously juicy."

Even though there wasn't anything Cloud could—or wanted—to do about the situation, he felt bad since the guy had seemed so genuinely excited. "Sorry."

He waved Cloud's apology away with a well-manicured hand. "Better for me, I suppose. You're not exactly my type, but I've been known to make exceptions if I'm drunk enough." Leaning forward, he poked at Cloud's cheek. "I'm Vivien, by the way."

"I, um..." Cloud's throat locked and he swallowed a few times to get rid of the sensation. "I'm Cloud."

Vivien laughed and smiled like he knew something Cloud didn't. "I know. If you ever want to party, come find me."

As Vivien made his exit from the locker room, Cloud found himself feeling strangely violated. He checked his pockets to make sure nothing was missing. Material possessions he could get back; there was little he could do about the innocence that had just been stolen from him. As weird as it was to get hit on by one of his classmates, he had to admit that it was better than getting beaten up. But only a little.

He caught sight of the clock above the door and swore under his breath. He'd agreed to meet Zack for lunch, and he was already five minutes late. Grabbing his bag, Cloud ran out of the locker room and hurried to the elevator. Zack was already halfway through his lunch by the time he made it to the cafeteria.

"Sorry I'm late," Cloud said, taking a seat across from Zack. Lunch didn't look particularly appetizing that day, but Cloud's stomach wasn't in any condition to complain. He shoveled partially-burnt baked beans into his mouth. "I was in class right until one."

"I figured. So, how was your first day as SOLDIER Third Class Cloud Strife?"

Cloud grimaced around his spoon. "My instructor hates me."

Laughing, Zack opened up his milk carton and took a sip. "Aw, c'mon, Spiky. It can't be that bad. Who is he?"

"Noir Décès."

Zack choked on his milk. Cloud reached over and handed him a napkin to wipe the milk dribbling down his chin. "Man, first Jadak, then Genesis, and now Noir. You've really got some bad luck, don't you?"

"Thanks, Zack. That helped a lot."

Zack flashed him a sheepish smile.

"How do you know him? Did you have him as an instructor?"

"Nah, Noir didn't start teaching Thirds until I was already halfway through my training."

"Really?" The beans on the left side of his plate were _really_ burnt. "What did he do before that?"

"He was on active duty. They called him _The Black Hand of Death._ I guess he had a pretty bright future as a First until he was forced to retire."

"Forced to retire? Why?"

"Nobody knows for sure what happened, but..." Shoving his empty plate aside, Zack leaned forward conspiratorially. "I heard it had to do with some sort of accident."

"An accident?" As far as Cloud could tell, Noir hadn't been sporting any noticeable effects of an old injury. "What kind of accident?"

"It happened three years ago. Apparently, he and another First were on assignment in Wutai, and he was responsible for injuring his partner and the failure of the mission."

Cloud swallowed. So, it wasn't out of the question for Noir to suddenly snap and kill one of them. Great. "Who was his partner?"

Pursing his lips, Zack thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I'm not sure. You'd probably be better off asking Genesis. He might know more about it, having been a First back then and all."

"I get that you aren't supposed to injure your comrades," Cloud said, "but isn't forcing someone to retire from active duty for three years a little extreme?"

"It wasn't the first time something like that had happened. I guess they figured he needed rehabilitation more than punishment. I mean, you've seen how he is."

Cloud let his head drop to the table with a dull thump. "I'm never going to pass this class, Zack," he moaned. "Noir is going to kill me if Jadak doesn't get to me first."

"C'mon, Spiky. You survived Genesis, didn't you?" Cloud felt Zack's hand ruffle his hair. "You'll just have to prove to Noir you've got what it takes to be a SOLDIER, that's all."

Cloud puffed out a heavy sigh. _You make it sound so simple, Zack._

* * *

The first thing Genesis noticed when he walked into Lazard's office was the neatly-folded piece of stationary on the director's desk. Lazard was already looking mildly irritated, but his expression darkened when they made eye contact. Genesis grinned as if he had no idea what Lazard could possibly be upset about. He stepped up to the desk and batted his eyelashes. "You rang?"

Lazard glared at him over the tops of his glasses. "You must think you're funny."

"On the contrary. I've been told I have no sense of humor."

"Then I'm sure you won't object to my not having one either."

Feigning innocence, Genesis gave Lazard a rather convincing pout. "Could I have done something to offend you, sir?"

"While I would love to engage in a literary analysis of your latest... _work,_" Lazard motioned to the stationary with no little amount of disdain, "there are more pressing matters we have to discuss. Ah, Sephiroth."

Genesis glanced over his shoulder just as Sephiroth entered the room, followed a moment later by Angeal. Narrowing his eyes, he tried to read their expressions for clues as to why all three of them had been summoned, but they looked just as puzzled. He stepped aside to make room for them in front of the desk.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," Lazard greeted.

"Afternoon, sir," Angeal replied, while Sephiroth gave the director a simple nod of acknowledgment. Genesis folded his arms, waiting.

Lazard leaned his elbows on his desk and steepled his fingers. "I'll get straight to the point. I've been noticing tension between the three of you and, seeing as you are the most important members of SOLDIER, I will not be having any dissension in my ranks."

Genesis peeked at Sephiroth out of the corner of his eye when the general nudged his foot. He locked eyes with him, then with Angeal, and knew what the other two were thinking. The bet. Lazard didn't know anything of the bet between himself and Sephiroth over Cloud Strife, but he had been an unwitting witness to the strain it had put on the three of them.

Angeal cleared his throat. "With all due respect, sir, that issue has been taken care of, to the best of my knowledge."

"That issue, whatever it was, should never have come up in the first place."

"It was... personal, sir," Sephiroth said.

"I don't care if it was personal. Personal issues should not affect your work; the three of you should know better than that. I expected you to have outgrown your need for childish squabbles."

Lazard looked directly at Genesis, who found it difficult not to leap over the desk and strangle the director. On a personal level, the two of them had always rubbed each other the wrong way. Lazard did everything he could to strip him of his sense of entitlement and authority, while Genesis was determined to resist submission until his dying breath. He knew Lazard still thought of him as a spoiled rich kid, and, on some level, Lazard was right.

"If the problem is already fixed, then I don't see what the point of you getting involved is," Genesis huffed.

"As things in Wutai have settled somewhat for the moment, I realize the three of you might be bored," Lazard said. "That is why I have organized some activities for you."

_Activities_ left a lot up to the imagination, but Genesis was certain none of them were going to like them.

"...What sort of activities?" Sephiroth ventured to ask.

"A series of training exercises, if you will. We have some new simulations and weapons we'd like to be tested. Your performances will be monitored, of course, to ensure you remain at peak condition."

"Monitored by who?" Genesis demanded. "You?"

"Nonsense. I'm much to busy to be attending to such trivial matters."

Angeal spoke before Genesis could threaten the director's remaining family members' lives. "Usually one of us would monitor such tests," he said. "Who could you have gotten on such short notice? Not Professor Hojo, I hope?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Professor Hojo is much too concerned with his little experiments to devote himself to hating you properly."

Genesis wheeled around. _There's no way._ _Lazard wouldn't do this to me._

But he had, because there was none other than Noir Décès standing in the doorway, looking impassive as ever.

"Gentlemen, this is—"

"You needn't bother introducing me, Director," Noir said, examining his nails. They'd been painted black.

_To match his soul_, Genesis thought sourly.

"If they can't recall who I am, I'm sure I can come up with a way of reminding them." Noir shouldered his way between them to take a seat on the edge of Lazard's desk, right next to Genesis' report. Genesis twitched when Noir picked it up and started reading it.

"Noir has graciously offered to monitor your tests," Lazard said. "He has proved himself a most capable instructor, so I trust there will be no problems."

Angeal scratched the back of his head, then folded his arms, then unfolded them again and finally stuffed his hands in his pockets, scuffing at the floor with his boot. Beside him, Sephiroth kept his attention firmly fixed on the ground. Genesis didn't blame them for being uneasy, because he was _livid._

"There won't be, Director." Noir folded up the report and placed it back on the desk. "Unless one of you has an objection?"

All eyes turned to Genesis. Like hell he was going to object and get called out for bringing up more _personal issues._ "When do we start?"

"Tomorrow, four o'clock. Morning would have been preferable, but I have some Thirds to discourage until one, so you'll have to excuse the lateness of the hour. Please come prepared for live combat. If injuries occur, I will not be Curing you. And you will lose points."

"If there are no further questions," Lazard said, "you are all dismissed."

Noir hopped off the desk, straightened the lapels of his coat, and pushed past Sephiroth and Angeal on his way out of the office. Genesis gestured for the two of them to wait and turned to pursue Noir. He caught up to him just as he was entering the elevator. Slipping through the doors before they closed, Genesis jabbed the button for the first floor and positioned himself in front of the button panel to prevent Noir from trying to escape.

"How uncharacteristically charitable of you," he said. "Offering to babysit us wayward Firsts."

As usual, Noir remained unperturbed. "It isn't my fault you've made yourself into a man who requires babysitting."

Genesis bared his teeth at Noir. "I should have killed you when I had the chance."

"Yes, you should have. If you try to now, I'm afraid it would be you who'd end up under Lazard's microscope." Noir tilted his cheek into his hand, humming softly. "Although, I rather fancy the idea of my death serving as your eternal punishment. I could hate you even from beyond the grave."

"You can't keep up the repentant sinner act forever, Noir. Sooner or later, the smell of blood will get to you."

"Is that a threat?"

"Just a friendly reminder that you're still on borrowed time." Genesis stalked across the elevator to pin Noir against the wall. Three years hadn't changed him at all; Lazard was an idiot. "So don't even think about trying to pull shit with me."

Noir ran his hands up Genesis' arms, feeling the taught muscles underneath his leather coat. "As much as I despise you, I can't quite bring myself to stop loving the fact that you could so easily snap me in half," he murmured. "I believe there may be something wrong with me."

Genesis' patience was rapidly running out. _"My soul, corrupted by vengeance, hath endured torment to find the end of the journey in my own salvation—"_

"_—__and your eternal slumber._ Save me your war cries," Noir said, slipping out of Genesis' hold. "You're nigh untouchable now, so I've found more attainable prey."

"Leave Sephiroth and Angeal out of this."

"Oh? Your first inclination is to believe I would commit professional suicide? That's funny."

Genesis frowned and crossed his arms. If it wasn't Sephiroth or Angeal, then who? He wasn't close to anyone else in the company, except... His eyes widened when he remembered Noir's comment about his schedule. _Damn it, Lazard!_

"Don't you dare get Strife involved," he growled. "He's worked too hard to have you ruin his future."

"Hmm? Concerned for someone's future? That doesn't sound like you at all, Genesis."

Before Genesis could stop him, Noir hit the big, red emergency button. The elevator blared its alarms and lurched to a sudden halt, throwing Genesis off balance. He steadied himself just in time to duck when Noir cast a Holy spell at the ceiling. Noir vanished through the hole before the crackling white energy had completely dissipated and his voice floated back down from the elevator shaft.

"Tardiness will result in points being deducted from your overall score."

Genesis managed to catch the light glinting off Noir's sword when he peeked through the hole in the ceiling right before the elevator began to plummet towards the ground floor of the ShinRa building. They were still thirty floors up.

_"__I look forward to failing you, Mister Rhapsodos."_

* * *

**A/N:** Noir was named in honor of a character from the manga _Undertaker Riddle_. Vivien was named in reference to Vivi of Final Fantasy IX, but, as you can see, his character went in a totally different direction. This is what happens when I leave characters to their own devices.

I'm going to be starting a new job in a week or so, but I will try my darndest to have a new chapter for you at least once a week.

Thank you so much for reading; Belphegors and billiards to you all!

**_RegenesisX_**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** In this chapter, we meet the rest of the cast. Thank you to Saria19 for giving me a pat on the shoulder while I was tearing my hair out over Eve. I think he's going to be okay :)

* * *

**LEGACY**

_"My friend, the fates are cruel. There are no dreams, no honor remains. The arrow has left the bow of the goddess." ~ LOVELESS ACT IV_

Cloud would have admired the frail, elderly lady behind the desk in the supervisor's office for her immunity to Jadak's intimidation, except she was the reason he was stuck with Jadak to begin with.

"Maybe you didn't hear me correctly." Jadak slammed his hands down on the lady's desk and leaned into her personal space bubble. "I _said_ I need a new roommate _now."_

The lady removed one hand from her knitting to slide the stack of papers a little closer towards the edge of the desk. "Fill out and submit these forms. The supervisor will have you reassigned in two weeks," she repeated.

"You don't understand. I'm not going to make it two weeks. I'm going to be convicted of a Class A felony before I'm eighteen because _I'm going to kill him."_

"The forms."

Cloud decided to intervene when it looked like Jadak was going to choke out the secretary. "Uh, um... Maybe we should just fill out the forms?"

At first, it didn't look like he was going to listen, then Jadak made a frustrated noise and snatched up the paperwork. "If we're not reassigned in a week," he growled, "you're going to find pieces of his remains in your mailbox." He turned and thrust the forms at Cloud, who had paled considerably.

"Have a nice day," the lady called after Jadak as he left. Cloud hurried after him, clutching the forms to his chest with trembling hands.

"Fill those out," Jadak snapped once they were in the hallway. "And you'd better be finished by the time I get back."

Cloud opened his mouth to ask where he was going, but Jadak was already walking away. Part of him wanted to demand that Jadak fill out the paperwork, since he was the one who wanted to switch roommates so badly, but he forced himself to let it go. Just because he was genetically enhanced didn't mean his chances against Jadak had improved. After all, Jadak had been enhanced too. It was best to avoid conflict.

Nose buried in the stack of paperwork, Cloud blindly headed back toward his room until his feet caught on something. Forms flew everywhere as he threw out his arms to catch himself before he hit the ground. He landed hard on his right hand and collapsed onto his side, surrounded by paperwork. Once he caught his breath, he lifted his head to see what he'd tripped over.

It was a boy, slouched against the wall with his legs stretched out in front of him. He had dark, wine-colored hair—Cloud assumed it had been dyed—pulled into a short ponytail, with thick, blunt bangs. He didn't look a day over fourteen, but Cloud was fairly certain the boy was in his class.

"Sorry. Did I trip you?"

He would've thought that much was obvious. "Uh, y-yeah, but it's fine," he said, clambering to his knees. Papers were scattered across the floor. "What are you doing there anyway?"

The boy cast an apathetic gaze at the door beside him. "My roommate kicked me out. 'Renata,' he said, 'Renata, get lost. We need some time to ourselves.'"

Cloud paused in the midst of scraping the forms back together. "We?"

Renata shrugged. "Belle is weird."

"So, you're just sitting out in the hall until he lets you back in?"

"Yup."

With the way things were going with Jadak, Cloud had a feeling he'd be camping out in the hallway as well. "Sucks."

"It could be worse. I could have a roommate like Vivien."

"Hey!"

Cloud shrieked, dropping his stack of papers, when the exclamation sounded frighteningly close to his ear. He twisted his head to his left and nearly bumped noses with Vivien, the black-haired Third he'd met earlier.

Vivien grinned at him. "Hello, darling."

"H-Hi?" Cloud peeped.

"Shame on me for startling you, but you look adorable when you blush like that, so you'll have to forgive me if I ever do it again."

Heat flooded Cloud's cheeks and he knew by Vivien's laugh that the color on his face had darkened. He wasn't sure he liked Vivien being that close.

A snort from behind them made Cloud turn. Another Third was leaning up against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. His hair was several shades lighter than Genesis' at a pale auburn, and was tied in a loose ponytail at the base of his neck. "Quit antagonizing people you aren't serious about, Vivien."

"You ruin all of my fun, Eve."

Eve raised an eyebrow. "You dragged me down here because...?"

Suddenly, Vivien's attention was off of Cloud, which was an immense relief. Vivien turned to Renata and nearly tackled him. "Is Belle in?" he asked, half on Renata's lap.

"I wouldn't be sitting out here if he wasn't..."

"Get him for me?"

Renata flopped onto his back and smashed his mouth to the small crack underneath the door. "Belle? Belle?" When he received no response, he banged on the door a few times. "Belle... Bellllllllle..."

_"__Goddess, Renata, what do you want?"_

"Someone is here to see you, your Highness."

_"__Who is it?"_

"Open the door."

_"__We're not opening anything unless you tell us."_

Cloud had to stifle his laughter behind his sleeve when Renata began incessantly banging on the door with his palm and calling Belle's name over and over. Thirds coming down the hallway slowed, giving Vivien and Renata puzzled looks. A boy two doors down poked his head out to see what was going on. Finally, the door slid open.

Belle's beauty put even Sephiroth's to shame. With his large glowing blue eyes and his fine, white-blond hair, he looked like an angel. An angel wearing Moogle-print pajamas. Cloud instantly liked him.

Belle opened his mouth, presumably to berate Renata, when he caught sight of Vivien and his plush lips set in a firm line. "Oh. It's you."

"Belle," Renata sing-songed in monotone, tugging on Belle's pant leg. "Vivien wants to see you."

"How thoughtful of him," said Belle. "But Belle does not want to see Vivien."

Renata looked back up at Vivien. "He doesn't want to see you."

"Has anyone ever told you how irritatingly unhelpful you are, Ren?"

"Of course. Belle tells me all the time."

Rolling his eyes, Vivien clambered to his feet, accidentally kicking Renata in the stomach, and placed himself in front of Belle. "Will you go out with me?"

"No."

"Please?" Vivien reached out to twirl the longest chunk of Belle's shoulder-length hair around his index finger. His hand was quickly slapped away.

"No."

"I'll buy you a couple of drinks, and then we can—"

Eve cleared his throat. "You're broke."

"I'll buy you a couple of drinks with _his_ money," Vivien corrected, "and then we can come back here so I can show just how much I—"

"No." Flattening his hand against Vivien's chest, Belle shoved him backwards. "Leave." He retreated back inside his room and slammed the door.

"Belle, please!" Vivien plastered himself against the door, crumpling to his knees. "I love you! I can't handle rejection! I'm going to spend all night sobbing over the picture I have of you inside my pillowcase!"

_"__Go away!"_

With one last dramatic flourish, Vivien collapsed to the floor. Eve pushed off the wall to collect him. "You're pathetic."

Vivien clung to him, burying his face in Eve's shoulder. "All I want to do is make love to him."

"Really, really pathetic."

"You're stupid. And jealous."

"Vivien, if I wanted to sleep with you, I would just ask."

As Cloud observed the proceedings, he remembered the paperwork he was supposed to fill out with a jolt. He quietly began scraping it together for the second time that evening.

"You should take me out instead," Renata suggested to Vivien, even though he was staring blankly up at the ceiling. "Getting drunk sounds fun."

"I suppose... Do you want to come too, Cloud?"

Cloud froze. He hadn't realized they'd noticed he was still there. "Um, well, I kind of have to fill out these forms before my roommate gets back..."

"So, fill them out later," Vivien said. "If he gets back before you do, it won't matter, will it? You'll be gone."

"I guess, but..."

"Oh, don't be so dull. I'll bet you've never even _had_ a drink before."

"I have." It was true; he'd gotten drunk with Genesis once. That was before his Mako-enhancements, though, so he was terribly hungover the next day, but it still counted.

Vivien cocked an eyebrow. "Then what are you waiting for?"

Cloud hesitated, reviewing his options. He could fill out the paperwork and go sit in his room until Jadak returned, or he could try to be sociable and get to know some of his classmates over drinks. What would Genesis do?

* * *

"I thought I might find you here."

Genesis didn't even bother lifting his head when he heard Angeal's voice over the pounding music and clamor in the nightclub. The club was hot, sticky, and much too loud, but it was one of the few places Genesis was able to blend seamlessly into the crowd. Very rarely did anyone bother him if he wanted to sit and brood by himself. It was a shame Angeal knew about this spot.

"They've got the whole elevator roped off on the first floor. They're already working on fixing it, but it looks like the other elevators are going to be extra crowded for the next day or two." There was a pause, and Genesis heard Angeal shifting, trying to get comfortable on the bar stool next to him. "Is this going to be a problem for you?"

"What do you think?"

Angeal sighed. Genesis hated when Angeal sighed. It meant he was gearing up to say something _important._ "I know there's a lot of bad blood between you and Noir, but it's been three years. You can't hang onto negative feelings like this. It's not healthy."

"Tell that to Noir. He's the one who cut the elevator cables."

"I'm talking to _you,_ Genesis. One of you needs to let go of your pride and be the better person, and I want it to be you."

Genesis couldn't hold back his laughter because, honestly, the notion was ridiculous. "Do you even realize who you're talking to, Angeal?"

"I'm worried about you, alright?" Angeal spat. "You're together for five minutes and you manage to destroy an elevator. I just don't want to see you get hurt."

That made Genesis sit up. The motion made his head swim for a moment. He blinked, waiting for his eyes to focus in on Angeal's face. "You think Noir can hurt me?"

Angeal held his gaze for a long moment before uttering the one thing Genesis didn't want to hear. "Yes."

"Are you implying that I am somehow _inferior_ to him?"

"Not at all," Angeal said. "He was your subordinate for a reason. But he knows you, Genesis. You don't like to talk about what happened between you two, but I know it left more than physical scars. If you want, I can talk to Lazard and get someone else to monitor the tests."

"Don't bother. Noir has had all the time in the world to get Lazard under his thumb. He's just..." Genesis knocked over the empty shot glass in front of him. "...a puppet. It doesn't matter how much blood is on his hands."

"I just don't want to see blood on yours."

"You think I'd kill him?"

"I think you'd try."

Genesis set the shot glass upright and stuck his finger in it to twirl it around. "Well... It's not me you need to worry about."

"Oh?"

"Noir is teaching Cloud's class."

Angeal made a choked noise. "You can't be serious."

"Unfortunately, I am."

"Have you talked to Lazard? It's early enough in the semester; I'm sure you can get him switched out—"

"Angeal."

Of course the thought had crossed Genesis' mind. It would be easy enough for him to pull some strings to get Cloud transferred to a different class, but such an action would come with a loss. There was a reason Genesis had agreed to work with Noir in the first place; it was rare to meet anyone with combat skills threatening to rival his own. G1 had been an afterthought to the Third Class training program, but not one SOLDIER who passed the class didn't make First. Noir was just as ruthless and efficient a teacher as he was on the battlefield, and it was almost a fluke Cloud had been put in his class. It would be to Cloud's detriment to switch.

"Holding Cloud's hand will deprive him of truly achieving his own success," he said. "I will not be responsible for stunting his growth."

"But Genesis, using him as a pawn, _again,_ in a feud between you and another First isn't fair. He shouldn't have to suffer because of your immaturity! Getting through SOLDIER is hard enough as it is."

Really, Angeal was far too sensitive. "Has it occurred to you that my pawn isn't Cloud?" Across the room, Genesis spotted a familiar head of blond spikes. He appeared to be with a group of other Thirds: a tall, energetic one with dark hair, a redhead that looked too young to be there, and..._ Oh. Well. How interesting._

"What do you mean?" Angeal asked.

"It's just that..." Genesis flagged down the bartender and motioned for her to refill his glass. "I know Noir too. I know him all too well."

* * *

"Are you sure it's okay for us to be here?" Cloud shouted over the din. It wasn't an exaggeration to say they were surrounded by drunk, scantily-clad women. A group of them bowled past, shrieking at the tops of their lungs while trying not to slip in their high heels. He'd never seen so much skin in his entire life, and he would've been perfectly happy not to have the experience.

"They let us in, didn't they?" Vivien called back. "Come on, Ren. You're not getting out of a rematch this time."

Renata stumbled after Vivien as he was dragged towards the bar. "But I've already won the last four!"

"Wh-what are they talking about?" Cloud asked Eve.

"Drinking contests. Renata holds his liquor better than Vivien."

"Should we, um, keep an eye on them?"

Eve swatted the comment away and began pushing through the crowd. "They do this every week. Are you coming?"

Cloud followed Eve, apologizing profusely every time he brushed too close to someone. This really wasn't his scene. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief once the crowd thinned and they emerged into a more secluded corner of the club. Eve leaned up against the wall, pulling a pack of cigarettes out his pocket. Cloud watched him light it out of the corner of his eye. There was something familiar about Eve, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

"So... um..." Cloud floundered for conversation topics. "How do you know Vivien and Renata?"

"Vivien is my roommate."

"Oh. I'm... sorry?"

Eve shrugged. "Vivien, Belle, and Renata grew up here in Midgar. They've known each other for years. I met them in the cadet program."

"So, you're kind of the odd one out?"

Eve was in the middle of taking a drag from his cigarette, so he didn't respond right away. Cloud recognized his faux pas and quickly backpedaled.

"There's nothing wrong with that, I mean..." His palms were getting clammy. He tried to wipe them on his pants as inconspicuously as he could. "I have a friend like that, too. He and his best friends go way back."

"Friends are alright, I guess," Eve said, blowing out smoke. "But I don't really need them. They're just to spend money on."

The comment threw Cloud off. It was usually the other way around, wasn't it? People used their friends to get, not give. "Well... they seem to like you. At least, Vivien does."

"Vivien likes everybody."

"That's nice of you to pay for him and Renata, though."

Eve carelessly tapped his ashes onto the floor. "I suppose."

Carrying on a conversation with Eve was not as easy as Cloud had hoped it would be. From where they stood, he could see Renata and Vivien across the room at the bar. Renata appeared to be trying to get Vivien's hand out from underneath his shirt.

"What made you decide to join SOLDIER?" Cloud finally asked.

"...Who."

"Excuse me?"

"Not what," Eve said. "Who. Who made me decide to join SOLDIER."

Eve's expression hadn't changed, but Cloud could feel the subtle change in atmosphere. He was entering uncharted waters. "Um... Who made you join SOLDIER?"

"It hardly matters now. I'm here, aren't I?"

Cloud was about to ask what the point of correcting his question was if he wasn't going to answer anyway when he caught sight of Genesis at the other end of the bar. His mentor seemed surprised to see him there, but cracked a smile and saluted him with his drink. Cloud laughed and saluted back. Beside him, Eve tensed.

"Is something wrong?" Cloud asked.

"...It's nothing."

When Cloud returned to his room that night, his mind was reeling. So much had happened that day, what with the information gained about Noir from Zack to tripping over Renata in the hallway to Eve's bizarre secrecy, that he'd completely forgotten about the forms he'd folded up and stuffed into his jacket pocket. It didn't help that Vivien had convinced several shots of vodka into him. His mind was not quick enough to come up with an excuse when he saw Jadak lounging on the bed, reading a book.

"I, um... uh, Jadak. Hi."

He was in so much trouble.

Jadak's tone was clipped and impatient, as if he already knew the answer to his question. "Did you fill out those forms?"

Lying wasn't even an option. "...No."

"Why not?"

"I was, um, busy?"

"I see. I didn't know you'd gotten a job at a club. Are you a stripper?"

How did Jadak—Who was he kidding? Jadak found out _everything._ "No, I... went out with some friends and lost track of time." Pulling the paperwork out of his pocket, Cloud moved to search the desk for a pen. "I'll fill it out right now."

"You do that, Brother."

Cloud prayed the supervisor would be able to read his shaky handwriting.

* * *

**A/N:** That makes Noir, Vivien, Renata, Bellerophon, and Eve. Ren and Belle are technically late additions, but it's alright since Belle gives Vivien someone to pine after. Next chapter, Noir will make his return, plot will get started, and hopefully the elevator will get fixed.

Thank you for reading!

**_RegenesisX_**


	4. Interlude

**Author's Note:** And now for a brief word from our sponsor.

* * *

**LEGACY**

**Interlude**

_"__...And this is Noir."_

_"__Hello, Noir. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Genesis."_

_It wasn't a pleasure. I saw it in your eyes. But you stepped forward and stuck out your hand like you had been trained to, politely shaking mine even though my fingers were tacky with sap from ripping off the branches of pine trees. Your eyes did not stray to the obvious hole in my sock or the pine needles tangled in my hair. You didn't even wipe your hand on your pants to get rid of the stickiness after we shook. Instead, you smiled like meeting me was something you cared about, not something your mother had simply forced you to do. How masterfully you manipulated yourself._

_I smiled back because I'd never met anyone like you, Genesis Rhapsodos._

_I'd never hated anyone so much._

* * *

_"__...he's a bit of a disciplinary problem, but I'm sure you won't have a problem keeping him in line, Genesis."_

_You once told me that SOLDIER changed you. It twisted you—made you bitter and obsessive. You'd told yourself so many lies that you clung to them as though they were the truth and the people closest to you wondered when you would lose yourself altogether. Perhaps you were different, but SOLDIER didn't change you. All SOLDIER did was pry you out of the picture-perfect shell you'd been locked up in your whole life. The scent of blood and carnage wrought by your own hand woke you up. Should I have been surprised your casing crumbled to dust and left you broken?_

_When you stepped forward to take my hand that second time in Director Lazard's office, your eyes made no secret of your distaste for me. My hands were not sticky and my hair was neatly tied back, but, to you, I was an abomination. I bent to no one. Your eyes told me you wanted to crush me._

_How angry were you when you realized you couldn't?_

_"__It's good to see you again, Noir."_

_"__..."_

_I..._

_really..._

_...hate you._

* * *

Noir preferred the dark. It was cool, it was comfortable, and it kept secrets well. The overhead light in his windowless office was never turned on. His students were more willing to enter a dimly-lit office as opposed to one not lit at all, so he had invested in a cheap desk lamp. Honestly, his students were more spineless than he gave them credit for.

At present, however, the lights were off. Banishing light left the office in a terrifying state of darkness. No matter how many times he blinked, nothing came into focus. He could feel the soft leather of his chair beneath his fingers and hear the clock ticking on the wall behind him, but there was no visual proof that any of it existed. His imagination could have conjured it all up. He could be dead and not even realize.

"...Noir?"

_This darkness... It's suffocating. _"I've...

...changed my mind."

"What? You can't do that!"

"Why not? I don't recall owing you anything."

"You... You can't do that, Noir. You can't just... We're—"

"What you think we are doesn't matter to me, and I find your insistence on harassing me about it rather irritating."

_I love it. The feeling..._

"I hate you! I know you say you hate everyone, but you don't know how much _I really hate you."_

_...of being choked._

"Fascinating. If you have no further business you wish to discuss, you may see yourself out."

"I promise you, someday... Someday I'm going to kill you, Noir."

_The feeling of hating—and the feeling of being hated._

_Are you prepared to dance with me again, Genesis Rhapsodos?_

* * *

**A/N:** Noir reveals some of his background without actually revealing anything! How typical of him.

**_RegenesisX_**


	5. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** Noir's interlude was intentionally ambiguous, but I will tell you guys that the last conversation Noir had was NOT with Genesis.

* * *

**LEGACY**

_"Let me tell you something... People that misbehave for other people's sake are the ones I hate the most!" ~ Xerxes Break, Pandora Hearts_

When Cloud opened his locker, the first thing he noticed was that his uniform was not folded up on the shelf where he left it. It wasn't hanging on either of the hooks, nor was it on the floor. He pawed open the drawstring bag he'd brought with him from his room, even though he was certain he'd left his uniform in his locker the day before. There were no clothes buried underneath his materia, however.

"Is there something the matter, Cloud?"

Cloud glanced over at Renata, who was busy pinning his hair back. "Well, I thought I left my uniform in my locker, but it's not here..."

A pair of arms wrapped around his waist and squeezed tightly. Cloud didn't have to look in order to know it was Vivien.

"No uniform, hmm? You could always go without anything at all..."

The moment he felt Vivien's hand begin to drag his shirt up, Cloud wrenched himself away and plastered his back against the lockers. He held his arms out to keep Vivien from coming any closer. "I-I think I'd lose points for that."

"Did you leave your uniform in your room?" Renata asked.

Cloud shook his head. "I clearly remember leaving it here."

"Come to think of it," Vivien said, tapping his chin, "I think I saw it in your locker when I talked to you yesterday."

"Perhaps someone took it?"

Cloud considered Renata's suggestion. So far, it was the only explanation that made sense, but he couldn't come up with a reason for anyone to steal his uniform. He'd only just met Vivien, Renata, Eve, and Belle, and, as far as he knew, he hadn't done anything to offend any of them. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Jadak's slender frame disappearing through the doorway into the training room. Unless...

"Well... It's possible my roommate might have taken it." Cloud scuffed at the floor with the toe of his boot. "He was pretty mad last night when he found out I hadn't filled out that paperwork... He probably stole my uniform and hid it somewhere so I'd be late."

Vivien grinned. "Then we'll just have to look for it, won't we?"

"O-Oh, you don't have to do that..."

"Nonsense!" Vivien turned to wave Renata away. "You hurry off to class, Renny-kins. I'll help Cloud find his uniform."

Renata's expression shifted from his normal faraway look to mystified for a brief moment. "Renny-kins?"

Vivien pinched his shirt and dragged him towards the door. "Go on, darling, or you'll be late." Most of their classmates were filing out of the locker room when Vivien returned his attention to Cloud. "So, what do you think your roommate would've done with your uniform?"

"Something terrible, probably," Cloud muttered. Knowing Jadak, his uniform was probably strewn all over the bathroom in ribbons. "I, uh... I'll go check the bathroom."

"All right. I'll look out here."

Heart pounding, Cloud crept toward the bathroom; he expected the worst. The bathroom, however, was deserted. His uniform wasn't decorating the floor or the counter. He poked his head into each of the showers to make sure it wasn't soaking in a puddle of water, but the showers were empty as well. It was odd, and it left an uneasy feeling stirring in Cloud's stomach. He'd know Jadak long enough to have gotten a feel for his roommate's style of revenge. It wasn't like him to take something without rubbing it in his face.

"Cloud! I found it!"

The butterflies came back in full force as he ran out into the locker room to see Vivien peering into one of the trashcans.

"I'm assuming you didn't throw it in here because it was too small," Vivien said.

Cloud hurried over to the trashcan. His heart sank at the sight of his precious uniform, crumpled up and surrounded by garbage. Holding his breath, he reached inside and pulled it out. There was a piece of gum stuck to the front of the shirt. A little bit of his soul died when he forced himself to pick it off.

"It smells kind of like bananas."

Sure enough, there was a rotting banana peel in the trash. "I hate bananas," Cloud wailed.

"Want me to toss your roommate in here for you?" Vivien asked, cracking his knuckles.

Cloud appreciated the gesture, but he didn't want Vivien to end up getting hurt on his behalf. "No, it's okay..."

"Well, don't say I never offered." Vivien eyed the uniform skeptically. "I guess you'd better get changed..."

"Yeah..."

"Do you want me to wait for you?"

"Nah, go on ahead. I'll just be a minute."

It took Cloud a little more than a minute to muster enough willpower to put on the uniform. As it was, he washed his hands three times in an attempt to feel at least partially clean. Finally, he trudged out into the training room, ten minutes late to class, with the scent of bananas trailing behind him. His classmates were already lined up facing the wall, practicing casting Fire at dummies. Noir noticed him immediately and approached him.

"I was almost pleased when you didn't show up, but I see you're either too stubborn or too stupid to know how to take a hint." He pulled out his tablet and typed something in on it. "Being tardy on your first day after orientation isn't exactly the best way to impress me. You've lost twenty points."

Cloud shrank back into the collar of his shirt. "I'm sorry, sir. It won't happen again."

"When it does happen again, I'll remember that you said that. Would you care to retract your statement?"

"N-No, sir." Cloud's throat went try, causing his voice to quaver as he fought to maintain eye-contact with Noir. "I c-can only do my best to uphold the p-promises I make. If I break one, I should suffer the consequences."

Noir seemed almost surprised by his words. "...Fascinating. I've never met anyone who was willing to accept my punishments before."

"It's just integrity, sir."

"We'll see how well your integrity holds up once I break you." Noir pointed toward the line of dummies. "Please get yourself acquainted with your Fire materia and your mute, helpless opponent."

"Y-Yes, sir."

"Oh, and Cloud?"

"Sir?"

"This may seem nit-picky to you, but I would prefer reaching a mutual understanding as opposed to simply docking you points. If it isn't too much trouble, could you please remember to shower before attending class?"

Heat flared up in Cloud's cheeks and he nodded in shame. "Yes, sir." He was going to kill Jadak. As soon as he was physically capable.

All Thirds received a crash-course in materia usage post-enhancement, but it consisted of a brief history of materia, followed by a shameless ShinRa advertisement. Genesis' explanations of how materia worked had been immensely more helpful, but he'd still only used a materia a grand total of once. As Cloud stepped up to the dummy, he felt like a cadet all over again. The materia in his bracer grew heavy and as he closed his eyes to mentally reach out to Fire, he couldn't tell if he was only imagining a connection or if it was really there. A vague sense of heat eventually settled in his stomach. Concentrating hard, he strained to grasp the slippery threads of the spell and...

And...

And...

_Pop!_

Cloud's eyes flew open and he pried Fire out of his bracer. Upon examining it, he noticed a spiderweb of cracks at the very center of the materia. Had he done that?

"Um..." He turned to look for Noir. "Um, sir?"

Noir glanced up from his tablet and walked over to Cloud, plucking the mutilated materia from his outstretched hand. Gazing at the glass orb with disdain, Noir handed the materia back and sighed. "That happens occasionally."

"Are there defective materia?"

"No. You're the defective one. Hold out your hands."

Cloud pocketed the materia and did as he was asked. Noir twisted his wrists so his palms were a few inches apart, facing each other.

"Materia is a physical manifestation of energy in a set, solid form. When you enter your own energy into the materia, that puts a lot of strain on it." Noir flattened his palms against Cloud's and pushed his hands apart. "Too much pressure causes the walls of the materia to expand and pop in the center like yours did. In order to cast a spell, you must release the pressure. The energy from the materia will snap back at you like a rubber band. Try it again."

Cloud pulled the materia back out of his pocket and Noir stepped out of his way. Closing his eyes again, Cloud reached out to the materia until he felt the heat flare up in his stomach again. This time, however, he withdrew his energy. As he did so, a rush of heat raced down his arm. His eyes flew open just in time to catch a glimpse of the flames flickering from his fingertips before they died.

"I recommend you work with Belle for the time being. He seems to have grasped the concept much better than you."

Most of his classmates had at least gotten Fire to leave their fingertips, but very few had success casting a strong enough spell to hit their dummies. Belle's dummy was a blackened, disfigured lump. Cloud watched, envious, as Belle artfully flung whirling orbs of flames at it without any effort at all.

"I am also penalizing you twenty points for breaking your materia." Noir tapped Cloud's Fire with one of his long nails. "That leaves you with a twenty point deficit. You will need to pick up another one before tomorrow."

Cloud's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Yes, sir."

* * *

Noir Décès was a curious creature. He openly professed his hatred, yet never exhibited anger. Sephiroth had yet to see him lose his temper. He only felt cool waves of loathing pouring from Noir's aura. The contrast between him and Genesis was fascinating. Genesis constantly in motion, always on the verge of an outburst, while Noir lurked, waiting to lash out and choke with that icy grip of his. They were two opposite sides of the same coin—a perfect, deadly balance. It was no wonder the two couldn't get along.

"Thank you all for being punctual," Noir said, not bothering to look up from the screen of his tablet. "I dislike having to repeat myself. From now on, you will report here once a week for your training exercises. As Director Lazard mentioned, you will be beta testing new simulations and weapons, and I will be monitoring you. But..."

Sephiroth didn't like buts.

"In order to provide you with extra incentive to perform well, I will be grading you via point system and your scores will be weighed against each other. In short, whoever has the most points wins."

"You mean it's a competition?" Angeal asked.

"In layman's terms, yes."

Sephiroth didn't like competitions either. Beside him, Genesis visibly tensed. He hoped a fight wouldn't break out. The two had already caused ShinRa enough property damage.

"Today's challenge will take place in a new simulation of a Wutaian base created from recently obtained intelligence. You are to wipe the area of all enemies and secure the base." Noir tapped his tablet twice. "I will award points based on the efficiency you exhibit. You will lose points if reinforcements are called, you fail to kill an enemy, you are captured, or you die. I will remove you from the simulation before anything terrible happens to you, of course."

Was it really safe to let a known sadist run these tests?

"There is also a time limit. Your job is to complete the mission as quickly as possible. The time you have left over will be translated into extra points for your overall score."

Sephiroth snuck a peek over at Genesis and Angeal. Between the three of them, he was the fastest. He was also the most powerful and could withstand the most physical damage, not to mention he was the most experienced. SOLDIER had been his entire life. Such tests wouldn't prove to be a challenge if he was always the _best._

"Are you sure this is fair?" he asked tentatively. "I'm not sure how evenly-matched we are..."

Noir shrugged. "If you wish to be given a handicap, I can certainly—"

"A _handicap?"_

Sephiroth winced at the volume of Genesis' outburst.

Angeal reached out to place a hand on Genesis' shoulder in an attempt to placate him, but Genesis shook him off. "He has a point, you know," Angeal said. "It's Sephiroth."

"You're damn right it's Sephiroth." Genesis' hand barely flickered and Rapier was suddenly pressed up against Sephiroth's throat. "That's why I refuse to be handed victory out of pity. There will be no handicaps. When I win, I want it to be because I beat you, not because you let me."

_I shouldn't have said anything._ Sighing, Sephiroth batted Rapier away. "Very well."

"If there are no further objections," Noir gave Genesis a look, "we can begin."

* * *

Cloud rapped twice on the door to Genesis' apartment before letting himself in. "Genesis? Can I borrow your washing machine?"

"Mmph," was the response from Genesis, who was curled up underneath a blanket on the couch.

"Thanks."

Ducking into the bathroom, Cloud tossed his uniform into the washer. The smell of banana had mostly dissipated—Vivien had commented on this at the end of class—but there was no getting around the fact that his uniform had been sitting in a trashcan. He dumped soap into the tray and pushed the appropriate buttons, then returned to the living room. Genesis still hadn't emerged from under the blanket, so Cloud took a seat on the armchair.

"So... how was your day?"

"Terrible."

"Oh." Cloud had assumed Genesis wasn't in a particularly good mood, but that still wasn't the response he'd been expecting. "What happened?"

Genesis poked his head out from underneath the blanket. Static electricity caused his hair to stick out in random directions. "Nothing, just... My least favorite person has unceremoniously waltzed himself back into my life."

"Who is he?"

"You've met him him. I believe he's your new instructor."

Cloud's eyebrows shot towards his hairline. "Noir? You know him?"

Genesis nodded. "I haven't seen him for years, and I was kind of hoping I would never have to see him again, but... _Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul, pride is lost, wings stripped away—the end is nigh."_

"How do you two know each other?"

"He broke a few too many rules, so Lazard assigned me as his supervisor. We did missions together for nearly a year until his retirement."

Tucking his legs up onto the chair, Cloud swiveled to face Genesis more fully. "Zack said something about an 'accident' that ended his career. Do you know anything about that?"

Genesis' expression darkened and he looked away. "That was our last mission," he said. "Noir was known as 'The Black Hand of Death' for a reason; he's exceptionally good at killing things. Our assignment was to rescue two Turk operatives who had been captured by the Wutaians. They'd managed to obtain vital intelligence on the Wutaian's future movements. The mission didn't go as planned, though, and Noir took it upon himself to incinerate the entire area."

"He just... blew everything up?"

"The destructive power he's capable of harnessing is nothing short of terrifying," Genesis said. "The hostages were killed, and I nearly was as well. When we returned to Midgar, I put in a request to Director Lazard that Noir be removed from active duty."

"So that was it?"

Genesis pinned him with a glare. "I didn't make that call lightly. It wasn't the first time Noir had compromised a mission by going on one of his trigger-happy killing sprees."

Picturing Noir wielding a bloody sword, gleefully hacking people to pieces made Cloud's stomach roll. And it was all too easy to picture Noir doing something like that. "H-He's okay now, though, isn't he? He hasn't killed anyone lately?"

"I'm quite certain he would've jeopardize his good standing with Lazard by killing one of his students. Besides, why kill one of you when he can try to kill me again?"

"Does this have anything to do with that elevator being out of service?"

Genesis' face contorted into the ugliest sneer Cloud had ever seen. "Evidently, Lazard wasn't too happy about Sephiroth, Angeal, and I not getting along, so he took it upon himself to come up with something more productive for us to do and _he_ decided it was a good idea to have Noir monitor these stupid simulation tests, but of course _Noir_ had to turn it into a stupid competition, and I'm already losing."

"Well, you do have to compete against Sephiroth—" Cloud yelped when Genesis lobbed a pillow at him.

"Don't _you_ start! I can win against stupid Sephiroth. I won that stupid bet, didn't I? I don't need any stupid handicaps. Sephiroth is stupid and Lazard is stupid and Noir is stupid, and... and... ARRGH!" Genesis yanked the blanket back over his head with a frustrated yell.

"If it makes you feel any better, Jadak threw my uniform in the trash this morning, I accidentally broke a materia, and I'm at negative twenty points already."

The second pillow Genesis threw hit Cloud directly in the face.

"Are you utterly useless? What the hell do you think I've been training you for?" Genesis propped himself up on an elbow and jabbed a finger at Cloud. Cloud wanted to laugh at the way static electricity was effecting his hair, but he didn't think it was the time. "If you don't get your ass in gear, I will personally do it for you. And trust me, you don't want me anywhere _near_ your ass."

Clutching the pillow to his chest, Cloud nodded hastily. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Now that we've come to an understanding, I need something to drink. Go look and see if I have any more vodka."

Cloud was halfway to the kitchen when Genesis called out to him again.

"Did you say Jadak threw your uniform in the trash?"

"Yeah."

"What happened?"

"Well... We went to see about getting different rooms yesterday, but the lady told us we needed to fill out some paperwork first. Jadak asked me to do it, but I, um... I went out with some friends instead."

"Oh. Is that what you were doing out last night?"

"Yeah."

"Who were they?"

"Vivien, Renata, and Eve. They're all in my class. They're a bit weird—" Or very weird, in Vivien's case. "—but they've been nice so far. Nicer than Jadak, at least." As much as Cloud hated to admit it, he was already starting to miss Yuza. And if _he _missed Yuza, he couldn't imagine how Jadak and Zol felt.

"I see." While Genesis' tone was light, there was an inkling of thoughtfulness underneath it. "I'm glad you're making friends."

Cloud was tempted to try continuing the conversation in the hopes that Genesis would spit out whatever was on his mind, but decided against it and disappeared into the kitchen.

* * *

**A/N:** I really wanted to get this posted tonight, because I'm not going to have any time to write this weekend, and my schedule for next week is unknown at this point in time. But now we have some insight on the "accident" Noir was involved in three years ago, and somebody tossed Cloud's uniform in the trash. Was it really Jadak, though?

Thank you all so much for reading, and Xerxes Break is the most beautiful character ever to have existed ever.

**_RegenesisX_**


	6. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** I finally found time to write this week! If you're ever curious about _Legacy's_ progress between chapters, my Twitter page (link in profile) is a good place to look. I also post random information about the chapters as I'm writing them, along with the occasional quote.

Vivien... has a weird taste in fashion.

* * *

**LEGACY**

_"What I have shown you is reality. What you remember, that is the illusion." ~ Sephiroth_

Cloud stumbled, tripping over his feet, when the flat of Genesis' blade smacked across his back. One of his shoelaces got caught underneath his boot, effectively sending him to the floor with a _splat!_ Genesis hovered over him, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Honestly, Cloud, it's like you aren't even trying anymore."

After the first day of class, things had only gotten progressively worse over the course of the week. Tuesday morning, Cloud had opened his locker only to find that the laces from his boots were missing. Renata eventually found them tied around the shower heads. Wednesday, his materia had been replaced with oranges. Thursday, the materia slots on his bracer had been filled with foam insulation. And Friday, that morning, his sword had been spray-painted an obnoxious shade of bubble gum pink. He'd tried to ignore his classmates' snickers as he walked into the training room, but it was impossible. Vivien's comment about his sword highlighting the blush on his face didn't make things any better. Even Noir seemed thrown; in the end, he decided not to deduct any points under the condition that his sword was cleaned off by the next day. Cloud would've been ecstatic, save for the fact that he was already down almost one hundred points just for being late. What difference was twenty points going to make?

"Sorry," Cloud muttered, peeling himself up off the floor. He resumed his battle stance, casting a morose gaze down the length of his sword. It was still patchy pink in places where he hadn't been able to get the paint off.

Genesis thrust his sword forward, resting the tip against Cloud's windpipe. "Don't apologize to me. I don't care if your sword is pink or you've sprouted a third eyeball in the middle of your forehead. Just do your job."

"Yes, sir."

With an impatient huff, Genesis let Rapier fall back to his side. "Tell me what's wrong with you."

There was a time when Genesis would never have asked, let alone cared, about what was bothering him. He would simply have snapped at Cloud to get his shit together and that would be that. Granted, there was a high probability that Genesis would ultimately tell him that anyway, but at least he was willing to listen first.

"Noir is going to fail me. I've lost eighty points for tardiness and forty for damaging equipment because Jadak keeps messing with my stuff. And on top of that, I'm falling behind in class because I haven't been able to concentrate, and Noir's stupid 'challenge' thing is tomorrow, which is the only way I'm going to be able to make up some of the points I've lost, but I'm probably going to fail that, too..."

"So that's it? You're just giving up?"

"I don't _have_ anything left to 'give up.' I've already lost."

"Oh. I see. I guess that means I should find myself another student, then. From what you've told me, Jadak sounds rather promising."

"No!" Cloud blurted, eyes flying wide. "That's not what I meant!"

Genesis stepped forward, looking every bit the intimidating military commander he was, and poked at Cloud's collarbone. "Then I don't want to hear any more of your self-depreciating bullshit. If you're falling behind, then you're going to work twice as hard to get caught up. You're not quitting because I refuse to let you." His expression softened and he rested his hand on Cloud's shoulder. "Are you all right?"

"I guess I've just been a little discouraged, that's all." Cloud released a heavy sigh. "Everyone in that class is really good."

Belle turned out to be some sort of freakish materia prodigy because he was, as Noir put it, very "in tune with himself," Vivien had managed to disarm Jadak during both of their sparring matches, and, despite his tiny stature, Renata broke three training swords before Noir gave up on asking him to be more careful and made him use a real broadsword instead. Jadak and Zol were, of course, sitting at the very top of the class; their combination of cunning and brute strength were unmatched thus far. Eve and the rest of his classmates, the ones that hadn't dropped out, all seemed to be doing just peachy as well. Cloud, however, was quite certain he was at the very bottom of the class.

He wished he could blame his failure on Noir's incompetence as an instructor, but he couldn't do that either. There was no denying the fact that Noir was an excellent teacher. He possessed an endless amount of patience and readily made himself available for questions, comments, and concerns. On Wednesday, he'd spent nearly half an hour helping Renata correct his footwork. The furthest his "deeply personal hatred" seemed to extend was a detached distaste towards them, and he'd even gone out of his way to learn all of their names. Cloud had found himself, much to his surprise, warming up to Noir. He wasn't exactly cuddly, but he didn't strike Cloud as the cold-blooded killer he was made out to be, either.

Noir was not, and never would be, Genesis, however. Genesis gave Cloud's shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Your only competition should be yourself. Forget about everyone else."

Cloud raised his eyebrows. "Is this some sort of revelation you're having?" He ducked when Genesis swatted at him.

"Do as I say, not as I do." Genesis' playful expression sobered. "Don't lose sight of your goals, Cloud. I know the first week hasn't gone the way you wanted it to, but don't let the little things distract you. Stay focused and just push through."

Firmly setting his jaw, Cloud nodded. Genesis was right. He couldn't let himself give up—not when he'd made it so far. "Yes, sir."

When Genesis smiled at him, Cloud realized how much of a fluke it was that he'd even _met_ the commander. If Sephiroth hadn't proposed that bet, it was very likely he would still be a cadet. He supposed it wouldn't hurt to write Sephiroth a "thank you" note.

"Very good. Now, if you could _please_ refrain from trying to make love to the floor, we can continue..."

* * *

Cloud wanted nothing more than to melt into the floor when Vivien flounced up to him in the hallway, catching him mere feet away from the door to his room. He was wearing nothing but an oversized black t-shirt and pink bunny slippers. The attire turned more than a few heads.

"Soooo, Cloud," he drawled, leaning against the door. He seemed oblivious to the fact that Cloud might have wanted to _use_ that door. "We're going to hang out in Belle and Ren's room. Care to join us?"

"I dunno... I just got back from training with Genesis and I'm pretty tired..."

"But it won't be a celebration without you!"

"Uh, what are we celebrating?"

"Surviving our first week as Thirds, silly! There's going to be alcohol and possibly me naked."

Cloud balked, accidentally choking on a glob of spit. Thumping his chest, he coughed until he could breathe properly again. "Uh, n-no thank you..."

Of course, Vivien's response was to laugh. "It's adorable how you take everything I say so seriously." He reached out to pinch one of Cloud's cheeks. "I'll keep all of my clothes on just for you, baby."

"Th-thanks for the offer, really, but I shouldn't—"

"Oh, don't be like that. Come on, it's going to be fun."

Before he could protest further, Cloud found his wrist locked in Vivien's iron grip and he was dragged down the hallway. Curious looks and snickers trailed after them. The other Thirds probably thought Vivien was planning to do unspeakable things to him. Cloud sent a quick prayer to Minerva for them to be wrong.

He was relieved to see Belle, Renata, and Eve in room 118 when Vivien burst through the door. Belle was stretched out on his bed, wearing a different pair of Moogle-print pajamas than the ones Cloud had seen him in the last time. He clutched a stuffed Moogle to his chest, idly toying with the pink pompom coming off the top of its head. Eve was propped up against the foot of the bed, while Renata was halfway in the closet, digging around.

"Look what I found," Vivien squealed. Cloud flailed helplessly when Vivien pulled him into a bone-crushing hug.

"Yes, we see him," Eve said, deadpan. "You get to dispose of the body after you're through suffocating him."

Suddenly, Renata tumbled backwards out of the closet, holding something above his head triumphantly. "Found it!"

Eve eyed the pack of cards in Renata's hands dubiously. _"Go Fish?"_

"They were on sale. I got, like, four packs."

"What are you going to do with four packs of _Go Fish?"_

That seemed to stump Renata, who scratched his head for a few moments until he shrugged. "Get a lot of fish?"

From the bed, Belle sighed. "Renata is an idiot." His eyes cracked open, darting around the room until they landed on Cloud. Then they slipped shut again. "Renata, tell Cloud 'hello' for us."

Cloud half-expected Renata to refuse the request, but Renata obediently turned to him. "Belle says 'hello.'"

"Um..." Cloud shifted awkwardly, unsure who he should address in response. "Uh, hi?"

"Belle, Cloud says 'hi.'"

Vivien made a disgruntled noise and let go of Cloud to drape himself over Belle instead. "Don't I get a 'hello,' too?"

"No."

"You wound me, Belle. Can't you see how my heart bleeds for you? You, and only you, my love!"

"This is why we don't talk to you."

_"__Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul! Pride is lost, wing stripped away, the end is nigh!"_

"Vivien is too melodramatic."

Cloud raised his eyebrows. "You know _LOVELESS?" _Genesis was the only person he knew who actively quoted the epic poem.

A coy smirk spread across Vivien's face. _"LOVELESS_ and I know each other _very_ intimately, darling."

"He's part of the _LOVELESS_ Study Group," Eve grumbled. "One of Genesis Rhapsodos' stupid fanclubs."

"What can I say?" Vivien giggled impishly, batting his eyelashes. "I love passionate men."

The room breathed a collective sigh. "I'm, uh... sure Genesis would be flattered," Cloud said.

A half-hour later, the five of them had breezed through their first game of _Go Fish_, with Eve being declared the winner. As Renata was reshuffling the cards to deal them out again, Vivien plopped a bottle of vodka in the middle of their circle. Whoever was forced to "go fish" had to take a shot as well.

Cloud shuddered as the bitter taste of vodka slammed the back of his throat. The room was getting too hot, and his hand of cards much too full. In the morning, he was going to regret this.

"Does Renata have any twos?" Belle asked.

"Go fish."

Belle added another card to his hand. "Renata may take our shot."

"Hey!" Vivien protested. "You can't just pawn off your shots. That defeats the whole point of making it a drinking game."

"Perhaps you should have considered that we might not _want_ to play a drinking game."

Renata took Belle's shot and the game progressed.

"Say, Cloud," Renata interjected a little while later. Although he had taken the most shots, he appeared to be the soberest in the group. "Did you ever find out why your roommate was tampering with your locker?"

Stifling a hiccup, Cloud shook his head. "No, I haven't talked to him yet." The truth of the matter was that he was terrified to bring the subject up to Jadak. His current plan was to talk to Yuza first and see if he had any ideas on how to deal with his younger brother.

"What has Cloud's roommate been doing?" Belle asked. His normally clipped tone had become sluggish, as though he were tiptoeing across the words for fear that they would shatter.

"He's been messing with Clo—_hic!_—Cloud's shit." Vivien had given up on sitting upright and was sprawled across the floor. His shirt had ridden up, revealing a pair of pink polka-dotted underwear. Cloud was fairly certain they weren't mens'. "He's a jerk. A big, fat jerk. Maybe not fat, 'cos he's kinda hot, but he's a jerk. J-E-R-K. An' I don't make out with jerks."

"Is that why you've been late all week?" Eve asked.

"Yeah." Cloud's depression resurfaced tenfold. "Tomorrow is my only chance to make up some of the points I've lost."

"Oh, that's right. Noir's challenge is tomorrow. How exciting," Vivien purred. "I always perform best when I'm under pressure."

Eve snorted. "I'm quite certain we won't be doing anything _you're_ good at."

"That's a shame, really. But you'll put in a good word for me, won't you, Evie? I'd love to schedule a _private_ lesson with him."

Cloud glanced over at Eve. "Do you know Noir?"

Vivien burst out into raucous laughter, startling everyone. "Of course he does. Didn't you know?" A Cheshire grin spread across his face. "Evie is Noir's little brother."

_Noir's... brother?_ The pieces in Cloud's brain began to click. The familiarity in Eve's appearance and demeanor suddenly made sense. Noir and Eve were siblings. Did that mean Eve knew about the incident three years ago too?

"Is it weird?" Cloud asked. "Having your brother teach you?"

Eve shrugged, hunching his shoulders as he slumped against the bed. "I'm just another student to him."

"But he's so hot," Vivien moaned. "If you don't set me up with him, I'll _die_, Eve."

"You're a whore."

Belle, who had appeared to be lost in thought for the past few moments, lifted his head. "Don't you find it odd?"

"Vivien's inability to keep his pants on?" Renata asked, poking Vivien's bare thigh.

"No. Cloud's roommate."

Eve furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

"Why would Cloud's roommate go through the trouble to tamper with the things in Cloud's locker?"

"Because he's mad at me," Cloud replied. "I didn't do something he wanted me to, and now he's getting back at me."

"But he lives with you. He has access to all of your possessions," Belle pointed out. "Why bother sneaking into your locker?"

Vivien shrugged. "Maybe he didn't want Cloud to know it was him."

"Cloud just said his roommate wanted to get back at him. What's the point in hiding it?" Renata asked.

Belle rested his chin on top of his Moogle's head. "It's possible his intention was to simply make Cloud late to class. Although, we still find it strange that he would only target Cloud's locker. Cloud has not been missing things in his room, correct?"

As Cloud thought back over his week, he realized Belle was right. Nothing in his room had gone missing, nor had Jadak made any threats of bodily harm to his person. It almost seemed as if he was waiting for something. For their new room assignment? "I didn't think about that," he said. "But no, I haven't been missing anything else."

"Maybe it isn't your roommate, then," Renata suggested.

"But who else could it be?" Eve asked. "Didn't we just establish they don't get along?"

Belle tilted his head to look at Cloud. "Could it be that Cloud has more enemies than he thinks?"

While it was possible Jadak had ordered Zol to do his dirty work, there was something about the incidents that nagged at him. Petty, anonymous pranks just weren't the Avon brothers' style. When they tortured Cloud, they went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure he knew whose shoe he was getting squished by. The idea that it was someone else's work entirely had crossed his mind, but he'd dismissed that theory the moment he asked the question, "Who?"

Cloud cast a sidelong glance at Eve out of the corner of his eye.

However, it still remained a possibility.

* * *

"The library is closed, you know."

Genesis jerked awake, nearly sliding off of the armchair. He shifted, trying to twist into a sitting position, and accidentally knocked his book onto the floor. It was pitch black in the library; he must've fallen asleep. There was an awful crick in his neck.

"Was the book that boring, Commander?"

Noir's slender figure was just barely visible in the dark. Genesis bent down to retrieve his book. "Sleep is hard to come by these days."

"Not working yourself too hard, I hope?"

_"__Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess,"_ he said, rising from his seat. _"We seek it thus, and take to the sky. Ripples form on the water's surface; the wandering soul knows no rest._ I've had a lot on my mind."

Noir sighed. "Oh dear. Am I beginning to inconvenience you again?"

"That's certainly one way to put it." Genesis left his book on the seat of the chair and started towards the exit. He sensed Noir following him, despite the other First moving noiselessly. "This is an odd time of night to be up and about, wouldn't you agree?"

"Perhaps I had a hankering for a good book. Something I could really sink my teeth into."

"I see. But, as you pointed out..." Genesis waved his ID for the card reader to unlock the front door. It slid open, bathing them in a sliver of dim light from the hall. "The library is closed."

"It's just as well." Noir slipped through the doors in front of him. "All I've found is a farce."

Genesis bit down on the inside of his cheek, accidentally drawing blood. Both of them were fortunate he was unarmed at the moment. "Noir."

"Hmm?"

"Even if you choose never to be honest with me again, answer me one question. Are you planning to fail Cloud Strife?"

Noir turned, regarding Genesis with cool, impassive eyes. Countless covert operations had forced the two of them closer than either of them ever wanted to be. Mistakes couldn't be afforded on the battlefield, and if one couldn't tell what the other was thinking at any given moment—couldn't read their actions—the success of the mission was put in jeopardy. Once upon a time, he'd trusted Noir with his life. Even after three years, threads of that bond were still there. They knew each other. They knew each other all too well.

And Genesis knew Noir understood exactly what he was asking.

_Are you going to refuse to let Cloud pass your class?_

"I take pride in my ability to judge all students equally," Noir replied. "If Cloud manages to accumulate a certain amount of points, he will pass. Although, I must say, he isn't off to a very good start."

"Do you know who's been pulling those pranks on him?"

"That's more than the one question you requested, but I'll answer you anyway. For old time's sake."

Genesis narrowed his eyes. "So, you know?"

Noir's expression didn't change. "I make it a point to know everything that goes on between my students. However, Cloud has not brought it up to me, therefore I'm not particularly motivated to do anything about it."

"I see."

"And what will you do, Commander Rhapsodos?" Noir asked, tilting his head to the side.

It was tempting to step in and use his authority to eradicate the problem; Jadak had bullied Cloud long enough. But if he cleared the way, he robbed Cloud of that personal achievement. No, Angeal was wrong. He had to let Cloud figure this out on his own. He was there to guide, not to control.

"Cloud can handle himself."

A phantom of a smirk crossed Noir's face. "You are a truly fascinating creature, Genesis. I've missed hating you."

"I hope that hatred chokes you someday."

"I hope so too."

* * *

**A/N:** Next chapter, we'll see what this challenge of Noir's is all about. Hopefully, nothing will go wrong for Cloud...

Providing nothing unexpected comes up, the next chapter should be posted next week. Thank you all so, so much for reading!_  
_

**_RegenesisX_**


	7. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** This chapter ended up getting too long, so I have decided to split its events between this one and the next one. Also, Regen has magically forgotten how to write the anitRemnants! Oh boy!

* * *

**LEGACY**

_"The world needs a new hero!" ~ Genesis Rhapsodos_

No missing materia turned up even after a third time of counting. Nothing had been jammed into the slots on his bracer. His sword hung stoically, clean and quiet, at the back of his locker. For the first time all week, nothing seemed to be out of place.

Cloud was instantly suspicious.

Belle materialized beside him and leaned over his shoulder to peer into the locker. "It does not appear that anything is amiss."

"I don't get it," Cloud said. "Does that mean whoever is doing it was there last night when we talked about it?"

"This would make Cloud's antagonist very... stupid." Belle reached into the locker and pulled out his sword. It was only a practice sword—much lighter than a real sword. They wouldn't be issued standard weapons for some time yet. "Your suspects are narrowed to Vivien, Eve, Renata, and Belle if this is the case."

Cloud had to admit that Belle had a point. If the culprit had panicked because of the conversation the previous night, that would mean it couldn't have been Jadak and it was one of the four people in that room. "But you said yourself it seemed odd for Jadak to be doing it."

"And you believe that?"

He watched, enraptured, as Belle gave his sword a few experimental swings. Each movement flowed seamlessly into the next, like water trickling down a slope. For a brief moment, Cloud even understood how Vivien felt; Belle could make the world stop.

The universe snapped back into motion when Belle aimed the tip of the sword at his throat. "Cloud should not trust Belle," he said. "Cloud should not trust anyone. Trusting others has gotten him into trouble before, hasn't it?"

From a very young age, Cloud had always been taught to give others the benefit of the doubt; they were innocent until proven guilty. Since coming to Midgar, that had come back to bite him more than once. Not trusting anyone seemed like a lonely existence, though. "I want to trust you," he said quietly.

Belle lowered the sword and stepped close, pressing the hilt to Cloud's chest. "That's very noble of you, but..." Belle's breath danced over the shell of his ear. "Can you really trust me?"

He watched Belle cross the locker room and retrieve his sword from Renata, then head towards the door, ignoring the longing glances from Vivien. It was true that he didn't know Belle, or any of his new group of friends, very well, and that he'd been burned in the past by getting too close to the flames, but he wasn't interested in becoming cold and paranoid, either. However, the thing that surprised him most about Belle's statement was his use of the First Person. Grabbing the rest of his equipment, Cloud followed the rest of his classmates out into the training room.

Noir raised an eyebrow upon seeing him arriving on time, of all things. Cloud did his best not to squirm as Noir scrutinized him intently, searching for anything out of place. A sigh of relief escaped him when Noir finally looked away. When Cloud took up his place in line, Vivien squeezed in beside him.

"What did Belle want?" he asked.

Cloud peeked at him out of the corner of his eye. Was Vivien just jealous, or was he nervous? "Nothing."

The answer didn't seem to satisfy him, but Vivien was forced to let it go when Noir began to speak.

"I must say, I'm simply tickled pink that all of you could make it on time."

A few muffled giggles rippled through the line of Thirds and Cloud's face heated up at the obvious reference to his pink sword and constant tardiness.

"As I'm sure all of you are aware, today is Saturday—my favorite day of the week. Why, you ask, is it my favorite day of the week?" For the first time, Noir broke his stony facade and smiled. It was a terrifying sight. "It's because it's the day that most of you are guaranteed to lose massive amounts of points. And today will be extra wonderful because those of you who have been struggling to keep up will finally realize the fruitlessness of your efforts and by Monday, you will be gone."

_You could transfer out_, a little voice in the back of Cloud's head whispered. _No one would blame you._

But... that wasn't true. He would blame himself.

_No matter what, even if I lose points today, I'm not going to quit. I won't give Noir the satisfaction of knowing he chased me out. If Genesis believes in me, then so will I._

Noir pulled out his tablet. "Today, we're going to play a game that I hope is familiar to at least some of you: Capture the Flag."

Cloud hated Capture the Flag.

"However, I have made a few alterations to the rules. This will be a live-combat exercise. You are allowed the use of your sword and one materia." Noir glanced up from his tablet and scanned the line. "Please choose your materia wisely," he said. "You will be divided into two teams and dropped into a simulation of a Wutaian jungle. Each team will be given a map of their own area—once you cross into enemy territory, you're on your own. Each team will also have a 'jail.' This is where your captives will be held. When I say captives, I mean this quite literally."

The Thirds shuffled, glancing between each other nervously.

"There will be no 'tagging.' When you run into each other on the battlefield, whichever of you is defeated will be physically hauled to jail. Your captive is allowed to try and escape until they are placed in the jail cell. If you happen to stumble upon your opposing team's jail, you may free your incarcerated comrades."

Noir then divided them up into teams. Much to Cloud's dismay, he and Jadak were on opposing sides once again. Jadak also had Renata and Belle on his team, while Cloud had Vivien, Eve, and Zol. It was possible that splitting up the Avon brothers would even things out, but Cloud wasn't too sure. Were teammates allowed to defect?

"Points will be awarded as follows: the first one who successfully manages to capture a flag will earn the most points. Those who have not been captured on the winning team will also earn points. Everyone else will lose points." Noir slipped his tablet back into his coat pocket. "And remember, I will be watching all of you."

* * *

"I am so lost," Cloud muttered under his breath. He'd crossed into enemy territory some time ago, rendering the map on his PHS utterly useless. The game had been going on for nearly a half-hour and he had yet to run into anyone on the opposing team, but that didn't change the fact that he had no idea where he was.

He hated Capture the Flag.

Instructor Davis occasionally let the cadets organize their own games when training ended early and Capture the Flag was a popular choice. It was easy to set up; all they needed were some markers and two strips of cloth to be the flags. Most of the cadets enjoyed it, but Cloud found it needlessly anxiety-inducing. There were always those two or three guys that hung around right on the border, waiting to tag you the moment you tried to make a break for the flag. Then there were those _other_ guys whose version of "tagging" was more of a bone-crushing body slam. Cloud usually stationed himself near his own flag, content to be yelled at whenever he accidentally let someone slip past him.

Even though no one had been waiting for him at the border to tackle him, Cloud found Noir's rendition of the game to be much, much worse. He was lost, he was scared, and he was seriously questioning his decision to bring a Cure materia. Why hadn't he brought something more useful, like Fire or Thunder?

A rustling noise reached his ears and he froze. When he heard it again, he crouched down and shuffled behind a nearby bush. The rustling continued and Cloud desperately tried to pinpoint which direction it was coming from. He caught sight of a flash of white, then ducked further into the leaves when Belle came into view. Belle seemed unaware of his presence, moving soundlessly at a languid pace through the trees.

_He isn't making any noise._

Panicked, Cloud listened for more rustling while scooting backwards in an attempt to relocate. Something sharp prodded into his back.

"Hello, Brother."

Cloud slowly stood up and turned around. Jadak was behind him, looking deadly as ever, sword aimed at his throat.

"I've been looking forward to crossing swords with you again, Brother." He smirked, taking a step closer. "And I've been practicing, so don't think you'll defeat me as easily as you did last time."

It definitely wasn't like Jadak to fall for cheap tricks more than once. "S-So, is this it?" Cloud asked. His heart was ready to rocket out of his chest. Hopefully, if it did, it would at least land on Jadak. "You drag me off to jail and it's game over?"

Jadak chuckled. "You'd like that, wouldn't you? But I have a better idea."

Cloud was not a fan of Jadak's ideas.

He most certainly wasn't a fan of Jadak drawing his sword back only to take a swing at him. Cloud dodged out of the way, narrowly managing to avoid tripping over a rogue tree root, and drew his own sword.

"It's no fun if you don't put up a fight first, Brother."

Jadak was nowhere near as difficult an opponent as Genesis, but their environment combined with the fact that Cloud was scared out of his mind made fighting Jadak seem impossible. Jadak effortlessly deflected all of Cloud's attacks until attacking was no longer an option. Cloud shifted into a defensive stance, doing his best not to trip as Jadak drove him backwards toward a small clump of trees. But something was wrong. His sword felt oddly off-kilter in his hand, like a loose tooth. It hadn't been that way yesterday. The more his blade collided with Jadak's, the worse it got. Cloud finally planted his feet a few feet away from the trees, determined to end this, because he might as well give one last, valiant push before Jadak hauled him away—

Suddenly, there was nothing attached to the hilt of his sword anymore and Jadak was stumbling off to the side, eyes wide in surprise. There was no time to dwell on what happened. Cloud turned and ran.

Belle stepped out from behind the bushes—_he'd forgotten about Belle, damn it—_and flicked out a hand. Cloud couldn't react quickly enough. A thick, black film materialized around him and sent a bone-rattling shockwave through his body. When it dissipated, he collapsed to the ground, twitching and panting.

* * *

It wasn't until Cloud woke up that he realized he'd even passed out. His vision swam for a few moments until it focused in on a pair of bright blue eyes uncomfortably close. Cloud shrieked, bolting upright. Zol was sitting less than a foot away from him, grinning.

"You're alive!" he cheered.

"Y-Yeah..." While Cloud fought to steady his breathing, he evaluated his surroundings. He was laying on the floor of a drab, brown box. A single door with a small, barred window was situated in the center of the wall in front of him. "Is this jail?"

"Unfortunately."

Cloud twisted his head to see Eve leaning up against the back corner. There was another Third sitting a few feet away, looking less than thrilled to be there. "I thought you were with Vivien. What happened?"

"We got separated." Eve sighed, tracing idle patterns on the wall beside him. "And I ran into Belle. I could've taken him if he didn't have that damn Gravity materia..."

"Well, it looks like he's teamed up with Jadak now." The tips of Cloud's fingers still tingled. "How did he get a Gravity materia?"

"Belle has been working his ass off to master his materia," Eve said. "Noir's already given him clearance for higher level materia, and he picked up that Gravity yesterday, along with Blizzara and Drain."

"Oh." It was good to know it was at least possible to succeed in Noir's class, Cloud supposed.

"What happened to your sword?" Zol asked, pointing at his hand.

Cloud hadn't realized he was still clutching the broken hilt. "Oh, it broke."

"How did it break?" Eve asked.

Lifting the hilt, Cloud examined the spot where the blade had once been attached. "It looks like the tang snapped," he said. "I'll have to get it replaced after class. It's weird, though. I was using it yesterday, and it felt fine."

Eve snorted. "Is that another one of Jadak's pranks?"

Zol's happy expression morphed into a frown and he glanced between Eve and Cloud, confused. "What did my brother do?"

Cloud opened his mouth to respond, but Eve beat him to it. "He's been doing things to make Cloud lose points."

"But that sounds like fun!" Zol's lips pressed into a full-blown pout. "Why didn't Jadak tell me? We could've done it together!"

"You don't... know about it?" Cloud asked. Surely if Jadak was responsible, he would've told Zol, wouldn't he?

"Nope! I'll have to ask him after class to include me."

Cloud hastily lifted a hand. "Wait. There's a chance that it isn't actually Jadak who's doing it. I don't know for sure who it is."

Something flashed in Zol's eyes and his face turned unreadable. "Oh. I guess that isn't as fun, then," he said.

"How did _you_ end up in here, Zol?" Cloud asked, changing the subject. Of all his classmates, he would've thought Zol the least likely to be captured.

Zol smiled sheepishly. "I was trying to rescue them from the jail."

"Fat lot of good that did," Eve muttered.

"At least he tried," Cloud said.

"I suppose that's more than anyone else is going to do. We're as good as stuck here for the rest of the game."

"How do you know that?"

"Only an idiot would try to free us." Eve cast a disdainful look at Zol, one eerily reminiscent of Noir. "Anyone with half a brain is going to go for the flag. This cell is only going to get more crowded."

"So, you're saying we've lost no matter what?"

"Unfortunately."

Cloud flopped back onto the ground and stared up at the ceiling, reflecting on Eve's assessment of their situation. There was a possibility one of their teammates would stumble upon the jail and attempt to free them, but the chances of that happening were very, very slim. As Eve said, everyone was after the flag. That was just how the game worked. At the end, they would all be deducted points and Cloud would be even deeper in the hole than he already was.

"I won't accept that."

Something inside of him stirred as he said those words. A rush of adrenaline coursed through him as he clambered to his feet. He wouldn't accept a loss. He wouldn't accept it, he wouldn't, he wouldn't, he _wouldn't._

"What are you talking about?" Eve asked. "The game is over. We're done."

"I won't accept that. I _refuse_ to accept that." Stuffing the remainder of his sword into its sheath, Cloud approached the door. "There has to be a way out of here."

"Noir clearly said we were only allowed to escape before we're put in jail."

The door was made of metal, but didn't appear to be very thick. He stood up on his tiptoes and craned his neck to see through the window. The only thing between them and the outside was the lock above the doorknob. "I don't think those were his exact words. He said nothing about whether or not we were allowed to free _ourselves_ from jail."

"But that isn't how you play Capture the Flag—"

"What's the matter, _Eve?"_ Cloud sneered, glancing over his shoulder. "Don't you want to win?"

Eve narrowed his eyes. "I'm not going to win by cheating."

"It isn't cheating. If Noir didn't want us escaping, he wouldn't have made this door so flimsy." Cloud placed his foot over the door's lock, then swiveled his leg back to give it a hard kick. The door shuddered violently, and the metal began to buckle under the force. "Someone like him would appreciate a little ingenuity, don't you think?"

Three more kicks and the door flew outward, smashing back against the outside wall. Cloud took a moment to bask in awe of his own strength.

"Whoever they have guarding the jail will have heard that," he said. "If you're coming with me, we have to hurry up and get out of here."

Both Zol and the other Third scrambled to their feet, but Eve stayed put. Cloud found himself wondering if Noir was that stubborn as he led the way out of the jail cell and back into the jungle. They'd put considerable distance between themselves and the jail by the time shouts of alarm were raised. Cloud took advantage of the momentary confusion to get his bearings. To his left, there were trees. To his right, more trees. Straight ahead...

Cloud found himself abruptly being shoved aside by none other than Eve.

"Ingenuity aside, you obviously have no sense of direction," he grumbled. "So _I_ will be taking the lead, thank you very much."

Cloud shrugged. "No one said this couldn't be a cooperative effort."

"Cooperation is for people who want to get themselves killed." Eve pulled out a PHS and opened the map. It fizzled for a few seconds, then pulled up a grainy image of the area. A blinking red dot signified their location.

"How did you get that?" their fourth companion asked. "My PHS only shows our territory."

"This isn't mine. I swiped it from Belle when he captured me."

Arching an eyebrow, Cloud nudged Eve with his elbow. "What was that about cheating?"

Eve scowled. "There was nothing in the rules about stealing phones."

"Oh, I see. Ethics don't apply only when it's convenient for _you."_

"Shut up." Eve pointed at a spot on the map a relatively short distance from their current position. A squiggly blue line indicated a river. "I ran into Belle around here. If he and Jadak are working together like Cloud says, it's likely that they're the ones guarding the flag. Getting past them won't be easy, especially because we don't know what kind of materia Jadak has, but the four of us together stand a better chance than we would on our own."

Frustrating as he was, Cloud was glad Eve had chosen to come along after all. He wasn't the swordsman Vivien was or a materia master like Belle, but he clearly had a gift for leadership. A stupid grin spread across Cloud's face as he thrust his hand out into the center of their battle-strategy huddle. "To winning?"

Zol eagerly slapped his hand on Cloud's. "To winning!"

"To winning!" The other Third added his hand.

They all looked to Eve expectantly. Eve rolled his eyes and reluctantly rested his hand on the top. "To winning."

* * *

**A/N:** Will Cloud's group manage to win after all?

Thank you for reading!

_**RegenesisX**_


	8. Interlude II

**Author's Note:** Apparently these little background interludes are just something that are going to happen now. Also, I will warn you that this gets sad. No character death, but I have do a pile of used tissues beside me.

* * *

**LEGACY**

**Interlude II**

_"__You know why we can't have a cat, Eve."_

_Eve remembered his mother's words as he stroked the skinny, brown and white cat that had crawled into his lap when he'd sat down on the steps to the back door of his house. He knew why they couldn't have a cat, but that didn't stop him from wanting one all the same. The little cat in his lap was purring so hard its whole body was shaking. Eve smiled as it pressed its head into the palm of his hand, silently asking for its ears to be rubbed. _

_The back door creaked noisily on its hinges as it was swung open and Eve's mother appeared on the top step. The cat jumped off Eve's lap, wiggling past him to wind around his mother's legs, trilling happily. His mother bent down to pet it. _

_"__I've seen her in the village a few times," Eve said. "I don't think anyone feeds her."_

_His mother shook her head, running her hand along the cat's bony spine. "It doesn't look like it."_

_Eve twisted his fingers in his lap, staring at the cat to avoid his mother's gaze. "Maybe we could set out a bowl of milk for her. So she won't starve..."_

_"__That's very thoughtful of you, Eve." When his mother straightened up, she smiled, and Eve thought perhaps, perhaps... "But you know we can't have a cat."_

_He tried not to let his disappointment show and reached out to pull the cat back into his lap. Despite its frail frame, its fur was still soft. "I know, mama."_

* * *

_Eve knew why they couldn't have a cat. _

_But the next morning when he opened the back door, there she was, waiting for him at the base of the stairs. She flopped onto her side, rolling in the dirt until he couldn't resist temptation any longer and sat down to pull her into his lap. He brushed the debris from her fur and scratched behind her ears while she purred. _

_"__Mama says we can't keep you... and I know we can't..." Eve chewed on his lower lip, considering. "But...you're such a nice kitty."_

_Worming his hands underneath the cat, he peeled her off his lap and gently set her on the ground. _

_"__I'll be right back."_

_He darted back into the house and, after a quick check to make sure his mother wasn't home, rummaged around the kitchen for a small bowl and filled it with milk. The cat was waiting at the door when he returned. He set the bowl down on the bottom step and smiled when the cat immediately sat down to drink._

_"__You can stay out here and be my cat," he said. "Then maybe it'll be okay."_

* * *

_Eve knew why their family couldn't have a cat, but thought perhaps if the cat was his alone, he could be exempt from that._

_Every morning, she waited for him outside the back door. He brought her milk and leftovers from the previous night's dinner, and even snuck her up to his bedroom on the days it was raining. As the weeks went by, she slowly began to gain more weight and her coat took on a silky luster. He named her Lacie._

_There weren't many other children in the village his age, and the ones who were tended to stay away, so Eve had been terribly lonely until Lacie came along. She followed him on his walks through the apple orchard and down to the mill. She listened to him while he talked and sat, purring, in his lap underneath the large oak tree by the river. She brought him dead mice and other such gifts, to which he did his best to mask his horror upon receiving. He confided in her because she was his best friend._

* * *

_Eve knew why their family couldn't have a cat. He knew why, and he knew he should have listened._

_For the first time, Lacie was not waiting for him at the back door. She was not waiting at the front door, either, and when Eve circled the house, calling her name, she did not come. He tried to remain calm, telling himself that perhaps she was still on her way or had simply fallen asleep somewhere, but the sick feeling in his stomach didn't go away. The longer he searched for her, the worse it became. His vision was blurry with tears by the time he caught a glimpse of brown and white fur behind the garden shed. _

_"__Lacie," he whispered, crumpling to his knees beside her. "Lacie, what did he do to you?"_

_His sweet, precious Lacie lay, motionless in the grass. The fur on her shoulder was matted and stained with blood, and her left eye was swollen shut. Sniffling, Eve gathered her into his arms. He could just barely feel the shallow rise and fall of her chest._

_"__Lacie..."_

_Staggering to his feet, Eve blindly stumbled towards the back door and carried Lacie up to his bedroom and laid her on the bed. She didn't stir. He ran into the bathroom and wet a towel, then returned to the bedroom and dabbed at the bloody wound. His hands wouldn't stop trembling. _

_"__It's my fault this happened to you," he sobbed. "If I'd listened, maybe you'd be okay..."_

_Through his tears, he spotted a familiar figure outside at the water pump. Anger overtook him and he scrambled off the bed, running downstairs and out the front door. _

_"__Noir!" he shrieked. "Noir!"_

_His older brother spared him only a brief glance from the bucket he was filling. _

_"__Noir, why did you hurt Lacie? She didn't do anything to you!"_

_"__Lacie..." Noir shut the water off. "Is that what you named that thing?"_

_A fresh wave of tears tumbled down Eve's cheeks. "She's not a thing; she's a cat. She's my cat, and you hurt her!"_

_"__I thought we couldn't have a cat. How come you get one?"_

_"__I was just trying to take care of her," Eve said. He scrubbed at his eyes with the cuffs of his sleeves. "She was hungry and lonely and nobody else was taking care of her. I just wanted her to be happy."_

_"__That's stupid."_

_"__She was my friend!"_

_Noir narrowed his eyes. "How come you get one and I don't?"_

_"__We can't have a cat because mama is afraid you'd kill it!" Eve lashed out with strength he didn't know he had, knocking the water bucket from where it hung on the pump. Water sloshed out of the bucket, drenching Noir. "Lacie didn't do anything wrong! We could've had a cat if you weren't such a monster—"_

_The bucket went flying through the air again, this time at Eve. Pain exploded in the side of his face and he collapsed to the ground. Something closed around his throat, preventing him from breathing, as the pain came again. The world went a fuzzy black and red, and Eve thought of Lacie in his room and wished things could've been different._

_"__Hey! What the hell are you doing? Get off of him!"_

* * *

**A/N:** The cat is a _Pandora Hearts_ reference just because I could. And now that you all hate both Noir and I, we'll get back to what we were originally doing in the next chapter...

Thank you for reading...

**_RegenesisX_**


	9. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CLOUD! And to celebrate Cloud's birthday, lots of bad things ALMOST happen to him :)

* * *

**LEGACY**

_"No story is not worth hearing." ~ Angeal Hewely_

Cloud pinched the front of his shirt to peel the fabric away from his sticky chest. For a simulation, their environment felt surprisingly realistic. He would have been more impressed with ShinRa technology, but it was hard to be enthusiastic about a muggy jungle. A giant, multicolored bug flew in front of his nose, squeezing a startled squeak out of him.

"Are we almost there?" Winston, the other Third that had been in the jail cell with them, whined.

Eve's patience was obviously wearing thin after already having been asked three times. "The idea that you might benefit from what we're doing sickens me."

"But are we almost there?"

"I'm going to kill you."

Cloud picked up his pace, brushing branches out of his way to catch up with Eve. He, too, was curious about their location but he wasn't stupid enough to further irritate Eve. As Cloud neared his shoulder, Eve suddenly wheeled around with a surprised gasp. The wide-eyed expression was the most emotion Cloud had ever seen on him. He raised his hands in apology.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you."

Eve relaxed, blinking the fear away. "You just startled me, that's all."

"Were you focused on something else?"

"No, you just came up in my peripheral vision faster than I thought you would. I've been blind in my left eye since I was six."

It was Cloud's turn to be startled. "Really? Doesn't that make it difficult to fight?"

"I'm not blind anymore," Eve said. "Since it wasn't a natural birth defect, Mako was able to cure it, but I'm still getting used to having a full range of vision again."

"What caused you to go blind?"

"...an injury."

"What happened?"

Eve started to turn away and Cloud was worried he'd asked too much until a single word escaped his lips. "Noir."

Cloud watched the trees swallow him, unsure how to feel. It wasn't a huge surprise Noir was the cause of his brother's blindness, but he stopped himself from jumping to any conclusions. Eve hadn't given any details, so it very well could've been an accident. Either way, he was content to live under the assumption that his instructor _hadn't_ purposefully blinded his younger brother.

Sort of.

When the sound of running water nearby reached their ears, Eve called them together for another group huddle.

"The river is just a few hundred meters east of us. I ran into Belle somewhere around here," he said. "Now, I'm going to assume they chose to put their flag as far back in their territory as possible, which narrows our search area considerably. Stay close to the river and keep your eyes peeled for the flag."

"How are we going to deal with Jadak and Belle?" Winston asked.

"They kept close together when I ran into them," Cloud replied, "but out of sight of each other. Belle played the decoy while Jadak attacked me from behind."

Eve tapped his lower lip a few times while he thought. "Then maybe we can turn their own tactic against them. Winston can go with Zol, and Cloud can come with me. We'll split up and look for the flag, but this way we'll still have backup in case one of us is attacked. Try not to stray too far from the river."

After Winston and Zol trotted off through the trees, Eve turned to Cloud.

"What kind of materia do you have?"

"A Cure."

Eve was not amused. "I guess _I'll_ cover _you,_ then."

Cloud shrugged sheepishly.

They set off in the opposite direction Zol and Winston had gone, Eve leading—since he had the map—with Cloud trailing behind. If Jadak and Belle were aware of them, there was a much higher chance of them being attacked now that it was just the two of them. And they knew Cloud was without a weapon. So there was that, too.

He almost, almost, wished the other team would just steal their flag so this stupid game could be over.

So consumed was he in wallowing in his misery that he almost missed the flag. He stopped, then backed up a few paces to check again. Sure enough, there it was, perched innocently between the branches of a tall, gnarled tree.

Cloud couldn't believe his luck.

He scanned the undergrowth for any potential assailants, but the coast was clear. Giggling to himself, Cloud ran to the tree. That little voice in the back of his mind suggested that he go find Eve first before he got too carried away since he was totally unarmed, but the blood was rushing too noisily in his ears for him to hear properly. Heart racing, Cloud clambered up the tree as best he could and reached for the flag. The tips of his fingers brushed it once, twice, until he managed to pinch the red fabric between his index and middle fingers.

The flat of a blade slapped his knuckles, knocking his hand away. Horror welled up in Cloud's stomach when Belle poked his head around the side of the tree's trunk. Gaia damn it, why hadn't he thought to check up _in_ the tree?

"Cloud made it out of jail rather quickly, didn't he?" Belle stepped out onto the branch holding the flag. "We are... impressed."

The first time, he'd been caught off-guard. Now he knew what was coming when Belle raised his hand, but with all of his limps wrapped around the tree trunk, he was a siting duck. He shut his eyes as the black plasma inked into his vision. The shock waves ripped through his body and even though he knew Gravity was one of the few non-lethal materias, he felt like he was going to die. His arms and legs went limp, and he slid from the tree, landing flat on his back. Winded, shaking, and coughing, Cloud fought to retain consciousness. Belle zipped through the air, hitting the ground at the base of the tree.

"This time, we will make sure you won't escape."

There was a beat of heavy silence while Cloud waited for something to happen, then came a noisy rustling followed by a clang of metal hitting metal. Eve. Thank the goddess they were traveling in pairs.

As the sound of fighting went on, Cloud struggled against the blackness threatening to overtake him. At close range, Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder were just as difficult to dodge, but at least they didn't directly sap life energy. He needed a nap or a potion or—

Holy can openers.

He had a Cure.

It was difficult to find the materia, let alone access it, when he was in so much pain, but he pushed what felt like every last bit of energy into casting it on himself. He sighed in relief when Cure washed over him and his strength returned. Shaking off the last bit of grogginess, Cloud scrambled to his feet. Belle was still engaged in combat, but not with Eve. It was Vivien who had rescued him.

"Get the flag, Cloud!" Vivien yelled, lashing out at Belle with his sword like a viper. "Get the flag and run! I'll be right behind you!"

Cloud flung himself at the tree. Bark broke off in his hands as he shimmied back up the trunk. The moment his fingers tightened around the flag, he let himself drop. Stuffing the flag's wooden handle underneath his belt, Cloud turned and bolted. A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed that Vivien had managed to get away from Belle and was indeed coming after him.

"Wh-what about Eve?" Cloud asked, panting, as Vivien drew up beside him. "Did you see him?"

Vivien shook his head. "Forget Eve."

"But what if he ran into Jadak?"

"If we win, it won't matter."

"Do you even know where we're going?"

"Just keep your ass moving."

Eventually, Vivien called for him to slow down. Cloud gulped in air to soothe his burning lungs while Vivien poked around in the trees, dragging him along by the wrist. "What are you looking for?"

"I left marks on the trees I passed so I could find my way back."

"Wouldn't someone from the opposite team be able to follow you that way?"

"I didn't make them _obvious_, dumbass." Vivien leaned down to examine the base of a tree that looked like several saplings had been planted too close together. "Even if someone did follow me, it's not like I'd let them catch me. Besides, I had Eve with me until he got captured."

"Why didn't you go rescue him?"

Vivien straightened up and cast Cloud a sidelong glance. "Because I want to win. I don't have time for someone who's going to get in my way."

The answer seemed so utterly out of character. Vivien, the same one who had taken the time to help him find his lost uniform at the risk of being late to class, didn't rescue one of his teammates because he wanted to _win?_ With a start, Cloud realized Vivien meant he was perfectly willing to leave _him_ behind as well.

"You said you were with him? Did he get away from Belle, then?"

"No, we..." Cloud cleared his throat to find his voice again. "We broke out of jail."

Vivien raised his eyebrows. "I'll bet Noir is going to have a field day with that."

"I wish people would stop reminding me," Cloud muttered.

"By the way, what happened to your sword?"

"Oh... It broke while I was fighting Jadak." Cloud showed Vivien what remained of his sword. "The tang just snapped. All I have left is the hilt."

Furrowing his brow, Vivien examined the hilt. He ran his thumb over the slit where the rest of the metal piece that attached the blade was still jammed inside. "What on Gaia have you been doing with it? Hammering in railroad spikes?"

"Nothing besides training," Cloud said. "These practice swords can't be that well-made, can they?"

"I'd expect they wouldn't give SOLDIERs stuff that can break so easily. And, no offense, but I have a hard time believing you've hit anything _that_ hard."

Vivien laughed when Cloud gave him a harsh shove.

"I'm just being honest, darling." He tugged on Cloud's wrist. "Come on, we've got a game to win. And you're in need of a few extra points if I'm not mistaken, aren't you?"

They traveled swiftly along Vivien's invisible path until the red and blue markers denoting the boundary line were visible in the distance. Victory was within their grasp.

"Going somewhere, Brother?"

An explosion of fire lit up the trees in front of them, effectively cutting off their path. Behind them, Jadak leapt down from a tree. Cloud unconsciously edged closer to Vivien.

"I've been waiting for you, Brother. You've made a surprisingly valiant effort, but I'm afraid your little charade of heroism ends here."

Vivien drew his sword. Lightning crackled at his fingertips. "If you think you can get past me alone, you're dumber than I thought."

Jadak's lips parted in an ugly sneer. "Who said I was going to fight you alone?"

On cue, four of Jadak's teammates stepped out from behind the trees. With the fire still raging behind them, they were surrounded.

"A gang bang, is it?" Vivien wagged his hips and one of the guys to their right took a step back. "Don't be gentle, now. I can take a _lot_ more than you think."

Jadak let out a frustrated noise. "Has anyone ever told you that you're disgusting?"

"Not today." When the first guy lunged, Vivien took him out so quickly Cloud barely had time to blink. Vivien disarmed him and knocked him back, tossing the extra sword to Cloud. "Show no mercy, darling!"

Cloud fumbled to catch the sword and he managed to grip it correctly just in time when he was attacked by another Third. Their blades met, but Cloud easily deflected his blows. As soon as he saw an opening, Cloud slipped past him and darted around the flames. The finish line was _so close._ Just a few more yards, and he would make it.

Then someone tackled him from behind and he went crashing to the ground.

"I'm not letting you win," Jadak's voice snarled.

Cloud struggled against him, but it felt useless. Jadak's knee was firmly planted in the center of his back and one of his arms was hooked around his shoulder while the other hand tried to pry the flag away from him. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted someone across the finish line and hope rose in his chest. Was one of his teammates coming to rescue him? He twisted his head to get a better look.

It was Noir.

His instructor stalked through the undergrowth like an animal hunting its prey. Even the trees didn't seem to notice his presence, their leaves eerily still. He stopped several feet away from the border and folded his arms, waiting.

_Well?_ his expression seemed to say.

With strength he didn't know he had, Cloud wrenched his elbow back and jammed it into Jadak's gut. Jadak breathed out a surprised grunt and Cloud used the opportunity to twist out of his grip. Dead leaves flew and hands grabbed at his clothing as he propelled himself back to his feet and sprinted for the border.

He was going to win.

He was going to win.

_He was going to win._

Cloud collapsed in a panting heap at Noir's feet.

He had won.

* * *

Cloud wiped his cheek with his sleeve where Vivien had laid a sloppy kiss and disentangled himself from his excited classmate as Noir approached.

"Team Blue is the winner of the challenge, as they managed to get Red's flag across the border first. I will review all of your performances this evening and your individual points will be awarded or deducted." Noir stopped in front of Cloud, poking his chest. "You may come with me."

"M-Me, sir?" Cloud peeped.

"Yes. You."

Exchanging a helpless look with Vivien, Cloud reluctantly trailed after Noir towards the back of the training room where his office was located. He managed to catch Eve's eye as he passed, but Eve just looked away. The sense of doom hanging over Cloud's head worsened ever so slightly.

Noir ushered Cloud into the office, then closed the door behind them, plunging the room into a thick blackness. Cloud's pulse spiked dramatically, quite certain that Noir was planning on killing him, until the small table lamp sitting on the desk flickered on. Noir sat down in a high-backed, black leather chair—not unlike the one Genesis had in his office—and motioned for Cloud to take a seat as well. Trembling, Cloud sank into the chair across from him.

"I'll admit that my curiosity got the better of me and I spent the majority of my time observing you, and in all my years of teaching, I've never seen anyone do what you did today."

Cloud slouched in his seat.

"As I have not had the experience of this occurring before, quite frankly, I'm not entirely sure how to deal with it. I am interested in hearing your reasoning behind your actions."

"I... I didn't want to lose, sir," he said quietly, staring down at his lap. "I was captured because my sword broke and... and... I guess I didn't think it was fair that I was taken out of the game so early."

"In a real game of Capture the Flag, you would've been eliminated for simply leaving the jail."

Cloud lifted his head. "But we weren't playing the real Capture the Flag, sir. We were playing a war game, weren't we? And in war, sometimes prisoners escape."

"You speak of fairness, but what of the other team?" Noir asked. "They didn't break out of jail like you did. Your actions might have cost them the game."

"It's not my fault they didn't think of it."

Noir tilted his head, regarding him in silence for several long moments. "I believe you finally might be beginning to understand, Cloud."

"Um, understand what, sir?"

"What it means to be a SOLDIER First."

"Sir?"

"Minding the rules and waiting around gets you nowhere in this company. The only way to truly achieve anything here is if you make noise. Today, you made noise." Shaking his head, Noir chuckled softly. "I'm almost... impressed."

Cloud's mouth hung open for a good five seconds before any sound made its way out. "Th-thank you, sir!"

Just as quickly as it came, Noir's amusement vanished. "Don't get too excited. I still hate you. I might even hate you more. The very last thing I want is some silly reincarnation of Genesis Rhapsodos when I've already got the real one to deal with."

Cloud fiddled with the hem of his shirt, debating whether or not to ask. He knew he shouldn't, but... "You... were Genesis' subordinate, weren't you?"

"Three years ago, yes."

"I, um, know there was an..." Gaia, this was harder than he thought it would be. "...indecent."

"Everyone does."

"W-well, I was just wondering if, um... if you could... maybe tell me what happened?"

Noir's eyes narrowed, taking on a dangerous glint. "You've asked Genesis already, haven't you?"

"Yeah, but I k-kinda wanted to hear it from you..."

"If you've already heard his version of the events, then it doesn't matter what I say. Even Lazard believes that ginger riffraff over a madman."

While his tone was bitter, Cloud caught an underlying sadness in Noir's words that felt out of place. Did he regret what had happened? "I-I'm sorry," he said quickly, rising from his chair. "I didn't mean to say things out of line, sir."

"You're not out of line, Cloud."

He'd gotten up with the intention of leaving, but instead found himself hovering. There was still one more question on the tip of his tongue. "How did Eve end up blind?"

Noir's head snapped up and Cloud felt like he was looking at a totally different person. Gone was the frigid calculation; in its place was wild, unadulterated fury. He'd seen the same look in Genesis' eyes many times, but, on Noir, it was so unfamiliar that it was terrifying.

"I..." Noir's eyes darted back and forth across the room, as if he was searching for something. "I hit him. With a water bucket."

Cloud swallowed thickly. Was it just his imagination, or did Noir look terrified too? "Why?"

"...I was jealous," Noir rasped. "He had something that I wanted, but I couldn't because I—" He locked eyes with Cloud. "Why are you bringing this up? Eve is fine now; it's over. It's _over_, damn it!" Noir shot to his feet and grabbed the nearest thing off his desk, a glass paperweight, and lobbed it across the room at Cloud.

It was only thanks to hours of training with Genesis that Cloud's reflexes allowed him to react quickly enough to dodge the paperweight. However, Noir was much faster than him, and no sooner than he'd straightened up did Cloud find himself being slammed against the back wall with Noir's hands closing around his throat.

This was much, _much_ different from being assaulted by Jadak.

The smell of Death had never been quite so strong.

Then, very slowly, the pressure loosened and Noir slid his hands to press his palms flat on the wall on either side of Cloud's neck. "I'm sorry," he whispered, breath ghosting across Cloud's jaw. "That was out of line."

Cloud sucked in a shuddering breath. "N-No, sir... I shouldn't have asked."

"Every breath I take seems to draw me deeper into the muck and mire my sins have created, and even though I'm drowning..." Noir ran his thumb down the column of Cloud's throat. "I can't make myself stop."

And then he laughed.

"You know what's really funny, Cloud?"

"N-No, sir."

"I want to kill you."

Cloud was at a loss as to exactly why this was funny.

"It's funny because all you did was ask a question that I didn't want to answer. I could've just not told you, but I did, and now I want to kill you." Noir let his forehead thump against the wall. "Is that normal?"

"I c-couldn't say, sir."

"I've been trying so hard to behave, I really have... You're making it difficult for me. Genesis ripped my future away from me, so why should I let _you_ live?"

_Please, let me live. Oh goddess, please let me live._

"But... I suppose... As much as I hate you, I am growing rather fond of you." Tittering again, Noir dropped his head onto Cloud's shoulder. "That's funny, isn't it?"

Even though utter insanity was pouring from his mouth and he couldn't seem to control his laughter, Noir was just as calm as ever. One of his hands had moved to Cloud's shoulder, his thumb gently rubbing back and forth over Cloud's collarbone, as if trying to comfort him in the midst of his own madness. Cloud truly believe Noir wanted to kill him, just as much as he believed Noir did not want to kill him. It wasn't really him that Noir wanted to kill.

"Yes, sir," he whispered. "That's funny."

* * *

**A/N:** Oh my goodness, you guys, I can't believe _Legacy_ already has over 100 reviews! What is this madness? The fact that you are all reading this really means a lot to me. I know _Legacy_ is different from what I usually write, and how it would be received was a gamble on my part from the beginning, but you've seriously exceeded all of my expectations. It's my dream to be a published author someday, so you and _Legacy_ are kind of my guinea pigs as I experiment around with my own characters and plotlines within a familiar environment. And then there's the part where I just wanted to have fun writing something for you guys :)

In the next chapter, we're finally going to get to a scene I thought was going to happen, like, two chapters ago. I know I also have not mentioned this publicly, but THE CAT IS OKAY. DO NOT PANIC.

Thank you all for reading!

**_RegenesisX_**


	10. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:** In this chapter, the anitRemnants are finally reunited and Noir disobeys me in order to make inappropriate comments.

* * *

**LEGACY**

_"See this man? He's our big brother. But in our happy flock, he's what you'd call a black sheep." ~ Kadaj_

Cloud had stopped shaking by the time he reached Genesis' office, but the nausea had yet to fully abate. Clutching his stomach, he shuffled into the office and collapsed on the loveseat. The cool leather was sweet relief on his face. Across the room, the clacking of typing halted.

"Cloud?" Genesis sounded slightly alarmed. "Are you okay?"

"No."

"What's the matter with you?"

Shifting onto his back, Cloud draped his arm over his eyes. "My mouth is going to get me killed one of these days."

"Why? What did you do?"

"I talked to Noir."

"About what?"

"I asked him about what happened three years ago."

"Oh?" The tone of Genesis' voice tightened. "And what did he tell you?"

"He refused to tell me."

Noir hadn't _outright_ refused him, though, and Cloud almost wished he'd pressed the matter further instead of asking about Eve. The way Noir responded made it sound like his version of the events would've been different from Genesis'. Despite himself, Cloud was still curious.

The sound of leather creaking preceded the footsteps as Genesis padded across the carpet and the couch dipped down near Cloud's hip. He peeked out from under his arm to look up at Genesis.

"Why did you want to ask him?" Genesis asked. There wasn't anger in his eyes... but there was something else.

Cloud shrugged half-heartedly. "I just wanted to hear what he thought about it. Maybe there was a reason behind why he did what he did?"

Snorting, Genesis looked away. "Do you think anything Noir does is reasonable?"

"Well, no..." Cloud's throat itched as Noir's phantom hands crept back around it. "But..."

"There's nothing else to discuss," Genesis snapped. "We both said everything we had to say three years ago. Whatever you're looking for isn't there. It's _over_, Cloud."

"Yeah... I guess so," Cloud said quietly. "Did you know Noir blinded his younger brother?"

Genesis glanced back over at him and nodded.

"Did Noir tell you?"

"I was there when it happened," Genesis said. "I was on an errand for my mother in town when I saw Noir hit him."

Cloud furrowed his brow in confusion. Eve said it happened when he was six years old. Genesis couldn't possibly have been there, unless— "Noir and Eve grew up in Banora, too?"

"The Décès family was always odd. They moved into the village when Noir was just a baby, but their, father, Jack, didn't spend much time in Banora. I guess he was some sort of self-sanctioned explorer. Then one day, he just left. No one has seen him since."

"So they grew up without their father?" It felt odd for Cloud to have _that_ of all things in common with them.

"It seemed to be the general consensus that Jack Décès had a few screws loose, so perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing. Not," Genesis chuckled dryly, "that their mother was any better. There were rumors that she was a witch."

Cloud's eyes widened and he propped himself up on his elbows. "A-A witch?"

"The rumors were unfounded, of course, but people still talked." Genesis' eyes grew distant, as if submersed in memory. "We all heard Eve scream, but I was the only on who ran over to help. Noir took off when he saw me coming. I never knew why he did it."

_But I know, don't I? _Cloud thought. Noir had told him. "He said he was jealous of something Eve had."

Genesis pinned him with a shocked stare. "You _asked_ him?"

"Believe me, it wasn't one of my brightest ideas. But, yeah. I did."

Shaking his head, Genesis sighed. "Noir, you really are a piece of work. What brought this up?"

"Eve told me while we were in class today. When Noir pulled me aside afterward, I guess curiosity just got the better of me."

"What did you get pulled aside for?"

Cloud couldn't fight off the grin that threatened to swallow his face. If anyone would appreciate him bending Noir's rules, it would be Genesis. "I might have exhibited some questionable conduct during Noir's challenge today."

Genesis raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Cloud relayed to him the events of the day, from Noir's Capture the Flag announcement to him being hauled off to jail to him deciding to break out to Cure's bizarre usefulness to ultimately winning the game. "My sword broke while I was fighting with Jadak, though, and that's why I was captured. I had to finish the rest of the game without it."

"Your sword _broke_?" Genesis looked skeptical. "How the hell did you manage that?"

"I have no idea! Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Pulling the hilt out from underneath his belt, Cloud thrust it at his mentor. "I don't know what happened; I was fighting with it, then all of a sudden, my blade was gone."

Genesis accepted the hilt and turned it over in his hands, narrowing his eyes as he pulled his glove off to run his finger over the tiny bit of the tang that was still visible. "Someone cut this."

"I know. Jadak hit my sword and it went flying—"

"No. I mean, someone pulled your sword apart and cut into the tang, then put it all back together again. See how clean the break is on this side?"

Cloud peered over Genesis' shoulder, examining the hilt more closely. Sure enough, the right half of the tang was perfectly flat, while the left half was twisted and uneven. "Damn it, _why?"_ he groaned. "I don't want to keep losing points for things that aren't even my fault."

Genesis handed the hilt back to Cloud. "Show this to Noir and tell him that someone has been tampering with your things. If he still insists on docking points, tell him I'm willing to bring the matter to Director Lazard, if necessary." He rose from the couch and went over to the desk, pulling out a small change purse from one of the drawers and plopping it on a stack of papers. "Then take this and go buy yourself a lock. If Jadak happens to be a locksmith, start keeping your equipment in here, because all of this nonsense is absolute bullshit."

"Thank you, sir," Cloud said softly. He absently rolled the broken hilt back and forth between his hands. "You know, I'm not sure it's Jadak anymore. He seemed just as surprised as I did when my sword snapped, and when I talked to Zol in jail, he didn't know anything about what had been happening."

Folding his arms across his chest, Genesis sat back against the front of his desk. "Would Jadak have acted on his own without telling Zol?"

"Never. The three of them have never even been apart before," Cloud said. "If Jadak was planning something, Zol and Yuza would know about it."

"Then I suppose the next step would be to talk to Yuza about it. Is there anyone else in your class that might want to sabotage you?"

Cloud stared down at his lap. He didn't want to believe anyone else in his class had it out for him, but Belle's warning not to trust anyone floated to the forefront of his mind. Belle, who remained closed off to everyone but Renata, Vivien, who, despite his camaraderie, wanted to win at any cost, and Eve, who kept his motives wrapped tightly in mystery. "I don't want to believe it, but..."

"Keep a weather eye, Cloud," Genesis said. "The games we play here can be deadly."

* * *

Paying Noir another visit so soon after having his life threatened didn't seem particularly appealing, so Cloud opted to go out and buy the lock first. It made sense; if someone was getting into his locker and messing with his stuff, he should just get a lock. It was so obvious, he wished he'd thought of it sooner. Like, way sooner.

A walk through the city turned out to be just what he needed to clear his head. By the time he returned to the ShinRa building, he was almost in a good mood again. As he was disinclined to ruin is mood, Cloud decided to put off visiting Noir a little bit longer and go look for Yuza instead. He deposited his new lime green lock in his room, hiding it underneath his pillow just for good measure, then stepped back out into the hallway.

"Cloud!"

Cloud turned to see Belle several doors down, padding towards him. He'd already changed into his pajamas—an oversized white t-shirt and moogle-print shorts—even though it was still early in the afternoon. His stuffed moogle was clutched tightly to his chest.

"Are you in a hurry to get somewhere?" he asked.

Cloud shook his head. "I was just going to look for a friend."

"Belle will not keep you long." He leaned his cheek on the top of the moogle's head. "We wish to apologize."

"What for?"

"We knew your sword was damaged and we did not say anything. We sought to take advantage of you, and that was wrong." Belle raised his eyes to meet Cloud's, imploring. "Will you forgive us?"

"H-How did you know?" Cloud asked, stunned. Did Belle know who was sabotaging him?

"When we picked up Cloud's sword before class, we could tell something was... not right. Cloud noticed it too, didn't he?"

Cloud nodded slowly.

"We are glad Cloud's team won, otherwise we would have been guilty, thinking we caused Cloud to lose."

"I-It's okay," he forced out. "I... I forgive you."

Belle regarded him with a steady gaze, gently stroking the soft fur of his moogle's tummy. "You are a good person," he murmured. "We told you not to trust anyone, but... we would like to earn your trust."

That irritating little voice Cloud was beginning to despise balked, reminding him that Belle had just admitted to taking advantage of him. But while it was true Belle hadn't mentioned anything about his sword, would there have been anything Cloud could have done if he had? It was too late for him to get a new sword, and if he'd swapped out his materia for something offensive, he wouldn't have been able to survive Belle's Gravity attack. Even if things hadn't gone as planned, everything had worked out in the end. Besides that, Belle wasn't asking to be trusted immediately. He was only asking for a second chance to prove himself.

"Okay," Cloud said. "Then you can start by answering me honestly: do you know who's been messing with my stuff?"

Belle shook his head. "We do not."

"Do you have any idea who it might be?"

"If Belle had to speculate... he might suggest that you closely examine your peers. We believe the answer will lie in what Cloud does not know, rather than what he already knows. But this is simply Belle's opinion."

It certainly wasn't a bad suggestion; he'd only know everyone, except Jadak and Zol, for a week. "Yeah... thanks. Maybe, um..." Cloud shuffled awkwardly. "Maybe we can train together sometime after class?"

A hint of a smile flashed onto Belle's face. "We would like that."

* * *

"Your saboteur sounds like an idiot. It isn't Jadak."

The tips of Cloud's ears heated up in embarrassment under Yuza's condescending stare. "I-I d-didn't think it was..."

"Besides that, if Jadak were planning any sort of revenge against you, he would have told Zol and I," Yuza said. "A week is far too long for him to hold his tongue, let alone act on his own."

"That's what I thought when Zol told me he didn't know. But, I mean..." Cloud shrugged helplessly. "You have to understand why I thought it was him."

Yuza smiled, reaching over to ruffle his hair. "You're fun to antagonize."

Glowering, Cloud swatted his hand away. "It's not funny," he muttered. The elevator shuddered to a halt, signaling they had arrived at their destination. "I've been losing points left and right because my instructor is an absolute ass—"

"I like to think I'm a little more than my ass."

All of the color drained from Cloud's face. Noir leaned against the retracted elevator door, preventing it from closing again.

"Although, I've been told I have a rather pleasing figure." Noir tilted his head. "But that's not what you meant, is it?"

"S-Sir, I—"

Before Cloud could stammer out the rest of an apology, Noir crooked a finger and beckoned him over. Head hanging, Cloud shuffled over to his instructor to await his imminent doom.

Noir pinched the longest chunk of Cloud's bangs between his fingers and gently tugged on it. Then he smiled. "Perhaps I deserved that." Releasing Cloud's hair, he stepped into the elevator.

"That was your instructor?" Yuza asked, once they were safely in the hallway with the elevator doors closed behind them.

Cloud nodded shakily.

"Hmm. Interesting guy."

They walked in silence back to the dorms. Yuza did not ask any questions of the encounter, which Cloud was glad for; he really didn't feel like explaining. Jadak was lounging on his bed, reading a book, but bolted upright at the sight of his older brother.

"Yuza?" Jadak's eyes narrowed to little blue slits as he glanced between Cloud and his brother. "What are you doing here?"

"Cloud's had a bad week," Yuza said. "We're going to do something about it."

Jadak jumped to his feet. "Why the hell should _I_ care?"

"Because." Yuza harshly jabbed Jadak in the breastbone to force him back on the bed. "He's our brother, too. Stay here—I'm getting Zol."

The last remnant of Cloud's courage promptly shriveled up and died at the withering glare Jadak sent him the moment Yuza was out of the room. "Just because you're my brother doesn't mean I have to like you," he growled.

Cloud wanted to point out that they weren't _really_ brothers, but he didn't dare open his mouth. A minute later, Yuza returned with Zol in tow. Cloud fought the urge to dive underneath the bed.

"Cloud, if you would please tell Jadak what you told me?" Yuza prompted.

"Uh-um, well..." Cloud stumbled through an explanation of the different pranks that had occurred throughout the week, resulting in his lateness, and what Genesis had discovered about his sword. "S-So that's why my sword snapped when we were fighting. At f-first, I thought it was y-you doing it, but..."

"If I were going to pull stuff like that on you, you would know, Brother."

"That's what I thought..." Cloud pulled his knees a little tighter to his chest, as if he could somehow back further into the corner on his bed. "But since it's not you, I don't know who it is."

"Do you have any suspects?" Yuza asked.

"I guess Belle, Renata, Vivien, and Eve are all a little suspicious... And Noir." Cloud wrapped his arms around his legs. "Especially Noir."

"Those four are the guys you've been hanging out with lately?" Jadak pulled a face. "I never liked them."

"Vivien asked me some weird questions earlier this week," Zol said, looking embarrassed.

Jadak looked horrified. "I hope you didn't answer him!"

"I told him I had to go water my plants. It's okay that I lied, right?"

"Yes, it's fine. Do me a favor, eh? Don't talk to Vivien anymore." Jadak huffed out a sigh and glanced back over at Cloud. "Honestly, I don't know how you put up with him. Unless you're _into_ that sort of thing."

"He's not like that all the time..."

That was a lie.

Luckily, Yuza saved him from having to come up with a better answer by changing the subject. "So, your orientation was on Sunday, and then you found your uniform in the trash on Monday. Did you know any of the aforementioned individuals prior to the incident?"

Zol gave Yuza a funny look. "You sound like a detective.

"I'm a Turk."

Cloud shook his head. "No, I didn't know any of them..." He rewound through the events of orientation, wracking his brain for anything unusual. "Oh! There was one thing—Noir asked if I was 'Commander Rhapsodos' cadet.' Everyone in line would have heard that. Vivien asked me about it after class, and I told him he'd been training me."

"That narrows things down a bit. Our suspect is either jealous of you for having a SOLDIER mentor—" Yuza glanced at Jadak. "—or they have a grudge against Genesis Rhapsodos."

"I don't know who that would be, though."

"Gaia, are you completely helpless?" Jadak snapped. "That means we find out. You dig around for dirt on your little buddies; Zol and I will watch your back to make sure nothing terrible happens to you. We'll report to each other if we find out anything."

Cloud blinked a few times, unsure if he'd heard right. "Y-You're seriously going to help me?"

"Years ago, I swore that the three of us would make SOLDIER together," Jadak said. "With Yuza joining the Turks, we're one short. Since you're our brother too, that responsibility is now yours. And I'll be damned if I let one of my brothers fail."

_They... really see me... as their brother?_

"So, Cloud?" Jadak extended a hand. "What do you say?"

* * *

It took Cloud until nearly nine o'clock that evening to work up enough gumption to trek back down to Noir's office to confront him about his broken sword. Jadak made fun of him for a good five minutes about being scared, but Jadak hadn't been nearly strangled. Sure, Noir seemed amicable enough even after Cloud had inadvertently insulted him in the elevator, but he didn't want to push his luck.

He stopped a few meters down the hall from the locker room entrance. What was twenty points in the grand scheme of things, really? His life was far more important. All he had to do was stick his shiny new lock on his locker and the problem would be solved. No more broken equipment. No more tardiness. No more pink spray paint.

Cloud glanced down at his broken sword hilt. "Do I really have to?"

The hilt said nothing.

"Ugh."

His indecision was brought to a sudden halt, however, when he saw the locker room door slide open.

Someone had to have been sneaking into there after hours in order to tamper with his things. There was a chance whoever came through that door was the culprit. Cloud's heart rate doubled. His first instinct was to hide, but the hallway was empty and the entrance to the training room was too far for him to reach in time. He would have to face whoever it was head-on. He didn't even dare to breathe as the shadowy figure emerged.

It was Vivien.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm sorry! I wasn't intending on ending on another cliffhanger, but how could I resist? In the next chapter, we'll have to ask Vivien what he was up to... Also, I'm not sorry for making Eve and Noir's father another Pandora Hearts reference.

Thank you for reading!

**_RegenesisX_**


	11. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:** I wasn't planning to post again so soon, but if I'm going to write this week, it has to be done before Thursday. Thus, you get a chapter.

Most of this chapter is filler-ish because I realized that _Sunday_ comes between Saturday and Monday, thus messing up my plans for a chapter transition. Luckily, Noir stepped in and took us on a frozen-yogurt-filled adventure. Please don't kill me for what Noir does at the end. Please. I HAVE HIM UNDER CONTROL, I PROMISE.

* * *

**LEGACY**

_"What is your dream?" ~ Director Lazard_

"Cloud? What are you doing here so late?"

Was it just him, or did Vivien sound nervous?

Folding his arms, Cloud slipped into his best interrogation voice. It wasn't very good. "Couldn't I ask you the same question?"

"Huh? Oh, um..." Vivien ran a hand through his hair and offered a weak smile. "Well, I... I had to see Noir. I had to, uh, give him something. From Lazard."

Cloud narrowed his eyes. Even _he_ could tell that was a forced explanation. "He's in his office, then? I need to talk to him."

"What do you need to talk to him about?"

When Cloud hesitated, Vivien immediately backed off.

"I'm sorry," he said hurriedly. "That's your business. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah, see you." Cloud stepped aside to let Vivien pass, watching him go out of the corner of his eye. As soon as he was out of sight, Cloud bolted for the locker room. His fingers trembled as he flung open his locker. The interior was covered in bright yellow, spray-paint.

_Cheater! Cheater! Cheater!_

The broken sword hilt clattered to the floor as he staggered backwards. Had Vivien done this? Cloud hadn't noticed him carrying spray paint, but he could've disposed of it or left it in Noir's office. A sense of betrayal set in and hot tears pricked behind his eyes. Vivien had always been so nice to him. The idea that it had all been just a ruse was a jab in the gut. He'd already gone though this with Jadak and Genesis; he didn't want to go through it again.

Bending down to pick up the fallen hilt, Cloud dropped it inside his locker and slammed the door shut. If he went to see Noir, he was positive he'd break down into tears. Sniffling, he snapped his new lock in place and left.

_Why, Vivien? _

_Why?_

* * *

"You have the day off, you know. Unless you've got moldy bananas in there. If that's the case, then, by all means, get rid of them."

Cloud accidentally banged his head on the top shelf as he backed out of his locker at the sound of Noir's voice. "S-Sorry, sir! If I'm not supposed to be here—"

"It's your locker; you can do whatever you want with it whenever you want."

Out of uniform, Cloud barely recognized Noir. His instructor wore a pale peach t-shirt that looked two sizes too big, the corner of which was tucked into a pair of black shorts. He was barefoot and eating what appeared to be frozen yogurt. Cloud noted with vague interest that his toenails had been painted black.

"I'm just cleaning, sir."

Noir's feet slapped against the concrete as he crossed the room to peer into Cloud's locker. "Mm. I see."

Cloud sluggishly smudged a bit of paint still left on the inside of the door. "I didn't do this."

"I imagine not. There would be little point in vandalizing your own locker, only to scrub it all off later."

"I just didn't know if you counted lockers as part of 'damaged equipment.'"

"As long as they still open and close, I don't really care what you do to them." Noir leaned against the locker beside Cloud's. "Do you agree with it?"

"Agree with what, sir?"

Noir pointed to the yellow writing with his plastic spoon.

"Oh, that." Shoulders drooping, Cloud lowered his gaze. "I'm not sure, sir. I didn't really want to think of it as cheating..."

"Pursing a questionable course of action will always leave you with consequences."

"But what if that's what _everyone_ thinks?" Cloud asked. "I don't want to be known as a cheater."

"Would you rather not have won?"

"Well... no..."

Noir stuffed a spoonful of frozen yogurt into his mouth. "I 'on't 'ee what the prob'em is."

Sighing, Cloud mulled over how to explain moral obligations to someone who had been suspended for committing mass homicide. "I just want to be seen as trustworthy. Being SOLDIER means a lot to me; I'd rather work hard and get nowhere than earn notoriety dishonestly."

"I've heard that before, but coming from you, I almost believe it. You're so honest, it's disgusting."

Cloud turned to face him more fully. "What was it for you?"

"Neither. Unlike the rest of you, I didn't come to ShinRa for glory or out of duty. For me, SOLDIER was my only option for a future." Noir's expression turned sour and he stabbed his spoon into his melting yogurt. "Not that it's done me much good."

Having such a casual conversation with Noir after the previous day's excitement was almost disconcerting, but his demeanor was considerably more relaxed. Perhaps it was the shirt. "Why did you decide to become an instructor?"

"Lazard put me in a remedial class with a bunch of Seconds once I'd been declared inactive, but our instructor was a moron. Some of my classmates reported to Lazard that I was a much better teacher, so he decided to assign me a few Thirds to tutor. After that, I was officially instated as an instructor and G1 was created. I suppose he was happy he'd finally found something for me to do that didn't end up in everyone dying."

"Please, um, pardon me for asking, but..." Cloud awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Why didn't you? Kill everyone, I mean."

Noir's grin rivaled a shark's. "Are you afraid I'll snap?"

"N-No, that wasn't what I meant..."

"You're like sheep, I suppose," Noir said after a moment. "Stupid, innocent little sheep. I've killed a lot of things, but I've never killed a sheep."

Cloud supposed that ought to have been comforting. "I guess it's just hard to imagine you like that."

"That means I've been doing well, doesn't it? Lazard will be happy."

The conversation lulled and Cloud frantically searched for something else to say. When nothing came to mind, he stammered out, "I, um, guess I'll just get out of your way, then." As if Noir was doing something important.

"You're not in my way. Unless talking to me feels like some sort of betrayal to Genesis."

"I hadn't thought of it that way," Cloud admitted.

"Well, now you have." Noir leaned his head against the locker. "Is it like that?"

"You're my instructor, sir. I can't just ignore you."

"Does that mean you'll come down to Sector Eight with me?" Noir peered into his paper cup. "My yogurt is no longer the consistency at which I prefer to eat it."

Not wanting to risk upsetting Noir, Cloud hesitantly agreed. Noir pitched his half-eaten yogurt in the trash on the way out.

"I wasn't allowed out of the ShinRa building for almost two years following my retirement," Noir said as they made their way towards the elevator, "so I like to get out when I can."

"Why not?"

"Lazard thought killing the hostages I was supposed to rescue was cause enough to be concerned for the public safety. Not that I wasn't known for killing civilians before the incident." Noir pushed the button for the 1st floor. "Genesis Rhapsodos is marvelously persuasive when someone else is under scrutiny."

Cloud didn't bother masking his surprise. "That was Genesis' idea?"

"He could have suggested erecting a guillotine to have me beheaded and Lazard would have done it."

"Would Genesis have really done that?" Cloud asked, voice small. He knew Genesis held grudges longer than most normal people, but that seemed extreme, even for him.

"I don't think he'd accept my death unless it was by his own hand." Noir leaned back against the elevator wall and sighed. "You might say Genesis and I are deeply in hate with each other."

"I-If you say so, sir."

After the elevator reached the ground floor, they exited the ShinRa building and walked to Sector Eight in a more or less companionable silence. Cloud spoke once to ask if Noir needed shoes, to which his superior replied that he preferred not to wear them when he didn't have to. Finally, they approached a colorful little cafe near LOVELESS Avenue. The exterior was painted white, with a pink-and-yellow striped awning and a neon sign that read "Candie's." Inside, stainless steel tables and chairs were arranged in groupings on the gleaming black-and-white tile. A counter decorated lollipop print stretched across the back of the store, and a glass case displayed chocolates and other sweets. The pretty blond woman behind the counter wore a white dress with little cupcakes all over it. It did not appear that the dress had been designed to be worn by someone with an ample a chest as hers.

"Back so soon, doll?" the barista—Candie, Cloud assumed—purred, leaning her elbows on the counter. Her bra was bright pink. Not that Cloud was looking.

Noir sighed. "My yogurt melted."

"Another?"

"Yes, please."

"Sure thing, doll." Candie winked, then flounced off to get Noir's yogurt.

"I guess you come here a lot?" Cloud whispered.

"Technically speaking, I own the building."

Before Cloud could ask further questions, Candie returned and plopped the cup down in front of Noir. She leaned across the counter again, running her finger along Noir's jaw. "Anything else I can get you?"

"No, thank you." Noir glanced at Cloud. "Unless you want something."

Candie squealed, noticing him for the first time. "Awww, aren't you just the cutest thing! Is this a friend of yours, Noir?"

A bright pink flush spread across Cloud's cheeks. Living in the ShinRa complex, it wasn't often that he got compliments. Especially not by attractive women.

"No, that's Cloud. He's one of my students." Noir took a bite of yogurt and moaned softly.

"Oh, but that's no fun." Candie rested her head in her hands, grinning mischievously. "I'm sure you could show him a good time."

"I don't think your idea of a 'good time' is the same as Cloud's."

The pink began fading to white when Cloud realized what they were talking about. "I, um, I don't... There's someone... back home..."

Candie giggled and reached out to flick his nose. "I'm just teasing you, sugar. Come back anytime. Bring your girlfriend."

They left the shop, much to Cloud's relief, and found a place to sit near the fountain. It was only eleven o'clock, so the square was relatively quiet. An old couple shuffled by, holding hands.

"I met Candie a couple months ago at a lemonade stand in Sector Seven. The lemonade was disgusting, and she told me about her dream of wanting to open up her own cafe."

"So you just... bought her a store?" Good Gaia, had Noir been _in love?_

"The dream seemed so stupid to me at the time," Noir replied, stabbing at his yogurt. "Indulging her in it was purely for my own amusement."

Cloud struggled to ask his question. "Were you—was she—"

"We slept together a few times, if that's what you're wondering. She's probably the most uninteresting person I've ever met. Hating her is absolutely unsatisfying, and I hate her for it."

There went that idea, then.

"That was nice of you to help her out, though," Cloud ventured. "I'm sure it meant a lot to her."

"Just like SOLDIER means to you?"

Cloud hesitated, looking over at Noir, then nodded.

"Tell me why."

The request was not the response he'd expected and he floundered through a brief summary of his growing up in Nibelheim, stalling for several minutes on how much he loved his mother's cooking, before getting to his experience with Tifa and the bridge.

"...so I told her that I would become a great SOLDIER so I could be there to save her whenever she needed me," he said, blushing. "I wanted to be a hero, like Sephiroth. But... I suppose you think that's stupid, too."

Noir had nearly finished his yogurt. Scraping the last bit into his spoon, he shoved it in his mouth. "Genesis wanted to be a hero like Sephiroth, too. I'm almost... jealous of you, for having reasons like that."

"What was yours?"

"Mine was more of an ultimatum than a real choice." Setting his empty cup aside, Noir pulled his knees up to his chest. "My destructive nature was rapidly outgrowing my hometown, and I'm quite certain the villagers would have rioted and burned me at the stake if I hadn't left. I joined SOLDIER because SOLDIER would take me."

Cloud wanted to ask about why Eve joined, but quickly forewent that idea. If Noir wanted to strangle him again, it wouldn't matter if they were in the middle of Sector 8. "I'm sorry it had to be like that, sir. Can I ask, um... Why did you ask me to come down here?"

"It's funny..." Noir laughed, which never seemed to be a good sign. "I think I might be getting lonely. I hate you, but you just looked so pathetic trying to scrub the spray paint out of your locker. I keep trying to associate you with Genesis, except you're nothing like him, so it's difficult. You're just one of my stupid little sheep that I'm obligated to take care of, so you might as well make it up to me by keeping me company for a little while."

"Oh. I guess I don't mind, sir."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realized how true they really were. Noir was almost amicable, if a little loony, when he wasn't trying to kill him. And if he was a sheep and Noir didn't kill sheep, by that string of logic, he was safe. He hoped.

Noir unfolded himself and swiveled around to lean half-across Cloud's lap, resting one hand on the other side of his hip. His free hand came up to cup Cloud's chin, tilting it up. Cloud's breath caught in his throat; Noir was _uncomfortably_ close, in more than one way.

"You're lucky I'm not asking anything else of you," he murmured, smiling just enough to show his incisors. "How far could I push you before you told me 'no,' I wonder?"

_Under the threat of death?_ Cloud tried to scoot backwards and his hand slipped, fingers dipping briefly into the fountain.

"I resent you an awful lot, but you just aren't _enough_. So, work hard in my class, Cloud." Noir tilted his head and lurched forward, close enough for his lips to brush against Cloud's jaw. "Make me wish I'd destroyed you when I had the chance. Don't let silly little things get in your way. Let Genesis and I mold you into..." Laughing breathlessly, he pressed his lips against Cloud's ear. "..._perfection."_

* * *

**A/N:** Tobi, I hope you're happy. Noir did it for you. He likes watching you squirm.

Speaking of Noir, I drew him! He's up on my deviantART, and the link to that (and him) are on my profile page (I'm RegenesisX there too). I plan on drawing all of my _Legacy_ OCs at some point. In the next chapter, we shall return to Genesis and Sephiroth and Angeal and Noir not molesting Cloud.

Thanks for reading!

**_RegenesisX_**


	12. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:** This chapter took way too long to finish. It also didn't come out nearly as well as I wanted it, but... There's one particular conversation between Noir and Genesis that I want to fix eventually, but not right now.

Even if the morrow is barn of promises, nothing shall forestall my horse.

* * *

**LEGACY**

_"Even if the morrow is the barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return." ~ LOVELESS, Act III_

Monday morning, Cloud was hurriedly pulling on his clothes, having woken up late, when Jadak returned to their room. He was carrying a plain white envelope. Cloud watched him open it and yank out a single sheet of paper, briefly scan it, then crumple it up and throw it in the trash.

"What was that?"

"Our request for room transfer went through."

It appeared that their supervisor had taken Jadak's threats seriously after all. "Why'd you throw it away?"

"I can't keep an eye on you if you aren't my roommate anymore," Jadak said, rolling his eyes. "_Obviously._ What if you ended up with Vivien or someone else like that?"

He had a point. "Um... About Vivien..." Cloud shuffled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "I kind of saw him coming out of the locker room the other night."

"_What?_ Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know! I guess I just needed to let it sink in." He sat down on the edge of his bed. "I really didn't want to think it was him. He's been so nice to me."

Jadak stomped over and gripped Cloud's shoulders so tightly his nails dug through the fabric of his shirt. "Look, Cloud. Nice people are jerks. Never trust them."

Swallowing, Cloud nodded.

"Vivien probably wanted to trick you into trusting him so he could do stuff behind your back without you suspecting anything. That's just how nice people _work_." Jadak released him and turned to pace back and forth in front of the bed. "Zol and I can corner him after class—"

"Wait! I... I want to talk to him. On my own."

Jadak glanced at him dubiously. "You? You're serious?"

"I really appreciate that you're willing to do that for me—" _Appreciate_ wasn't exactly the right word. "—but Vivien is my friend. If he has a problem with Genesis or me or whatever, then I want to be the one to deal with it."

Jadak looked like he wanted to argue, but set his jaw and sighed. "Do what you want, Cloud."

After returning to the ShinRa building with Noir the previous day, Cloud had fumbled through a clumsy explanation of what happened to his sword and showed him the broken hilt. Noir had been surprisingly understanding. Upon examining it, he shrugged and agreed not to deduct points on account of that it was unlikely he'd purposefully damaged his own sword. Cloud thanked him, finished scrubbing out his locker, and hid in Genesis' office for the rest of the day. After refusing to answer why he was so jumpy for the third time, Genesis stopped asking.

When Cloud finally arrived in the locker room, he paid close attention to his peers as he opened his locker. His new lock had done its job; all of his possessions were as he left them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Vivien break away from his conversation with Renata to skip across the room towards him.

"Good morning, darling," he greeted, squeezing Cloud around the waist. "No vandalism today?"

Cloud stiffened at Vivien's use of the word _vandalism._ "Genesis told me to buy a lock."

"Mm... That was a good idea." Humming softly, Vivien kissed his neck. His tone seemed casual, bordering on distracted. Was it possible, now that the lock was on, that he'd lost interest in sabotaging Cloud?

Either way, he had to know for sure.

Cloud twisted in Vivien's grip to face him and opened his mouth to demand the truth. But nothing came out.

Vivien blinked back at him expectantly, eyes as wide and innocent as he'd ever seen them. "Yeah?"

"About the other night..."

He didn't need to elaborate. Vivien's demeanor instantly shifted into a hard wariness and he stepped forward to rest his hands on Cloud's shoulders. "That can stay just between us, can't it, darling?" His smile was tight. "No one else needs to know."

"I... I..."

"It'll be our secret, alright? Let's not be late to class."

Cloud slumped back against his locker and stared after Vivien, befuddled. Renata gave Vivien a quizzical look when he returned, obviously asking about the conversation. Vivien waved it off and collected his sword, giving Renata's cheek a pinch before turning towards the door. As he passed by Belle, he didn't even bother to spare the blond so much as a fleeting glance.

What the hell was going on?

* * *

"Today's assignment will require cooperation, thus I will be splitting you into pairs. Sephiroth and Genesis will work together, and, since three is not a number divisible by two, Angeal will be working with me."

"Hang on," Genesis spat. "I thought this was supposed to be a competition."

Noir examined his nails to avoid making eye contact. "Your performances will still be evaluated individually."

"So, hypothetically speaking, I could incapacitate Sephiroth—"

Sephiroth made a disgruntled noise and folded his arms.

"—and complete the mission alone?"

"I suppose you could," Noir drawled, "but I would dock points for that. The goal of a cooperative mission is cooperation."

"I don't want to work with Sephiroth." It was nothing personal, really. If he had to compete against Sephiroth, then Genesis didn't want to muddy the waters with _cooperation._ The same went for Angeal.

"Very well, you and Angeal can—"

"I'll work with you."

Identical expressions of surprise flashed onto Sephiroth's and Angeal's faces. Noir appeared thrown-off by the statement as well. His head snapped up, eyes frantically searching Genesis' for an explanation. Genesis smirked.

"You're my partner, aren't you?" He stalked forward, circling Noir to hover over his shoulder. _"Even if the morrow is barren of promises, nothing shall forestall my return."_

Ever the pacifist, Angeal piped up with his reservations. "Perhaps it's better if I work with Noir, Genesis. I'd rather get through this assignment without incident."

"He'll behave." Genesis reached up to brush the back of his hand across Noir's cheek. Noir flinched away. "You'll be good, won't you?"

"Do I have a choice?"

Genesis laughed at Noir's bitter tone. "Of course not."

Angeal looked dubious, but Sephiroth looked hurt—most likely by Genesis' refusal to work with him. Dealing with that would have to wait, though.

"A group of Wutaians have infiltrated ShinRa security and have targeted Mako Reactor One," Noir said flatly. "Your task will be to disable a bomb that has been placed inside the reactor, as well as eliminate the enemy."

"Didn't something like this happen a few years back?" Sephiroth asked, furrowing his brow.

Noir didn't blink. "It's possible."

"Hmph." Sephiroth shook his head, starting to turn away towards Angeal. "I don't know why it seems so familiar to me."

Genesis knew.

* * *

_Genesis flung open the door to the reactor chamber and stopped short, hit by the overwhelming stench of blood._

_Bodies were everywhere._

_Or perhaps it just seemed that way because they'd been hacked to pieces. The arm near the door looked like it belonged to the torso several feet away, which had most likely been attached to the pair of legs just beyond that. Horror stricken, Genesis covered his mouth as he gingerly picked his way between the puddles of blood and severed limbs. _

_"__Have I been good?"_

_The voice startled him, sending him skittering into a headless corpse. He narrowly managed to avoid stepping on its limp hand. Genesis drew his sword, frantically searching the shadows._

_Footsteps tapped against the metal floor and Noir emerged from the darkness. The ends of his hair were stained red and there was a smear of blood across his cheek. A chunk of fabric was still caught in one of the wide, metal teeth that had been fashioned into Noir's sword near the hilt. _

_"__Well, Commander Rhapsodos?" Noir grinned, stalking towards Genesis. The leather suit he wore gleamed in the dim, greenish light, as if it were slick with something wet. "Have I been good?"_

_It took Genesis several moments to pull himself out of his shock in order to speak. "What the hell did you do?"_

_Noir's smile widened. "I killed them. They're all dead. That means I was good, doesn't it?"_

_"__What are you talking about? What do you mean, 'were you good?'" Genesis struggled to keep the hysteria out of his voice. "This is massacre!"_

_"__Was I meant to leave them alive?"_

_"__No, but..."_

_Noir's face slowly started to fall. "What did I do wrong?"_

_"__You... You _dismembered_ them, damn it!" _

_"__Our orders were to eliminate the intruders—"_

_"__So you decided that meant it was okay to slaughter them?" Genesis asked, incredulous. _

_Noir took another two steps towards him. "I killed them. Was I not supposed to?"_

_The conversation was going nowhere, Genesis realized. The confusion on Noir's face was real. According to their mission, Noir had done nothing wrong, so he didn't understand why Genesis was upset. _

_Reluctantly, Genesis shook his head. "No, you followed orders."_

_"__Then I was good?"_

_"__Yes, you were..." The way Noir's eyes lit up made his stomach roll. "Good."_

_"__And surely you concede that I deserve some sort of reward for being good, don't you? After all, Director Lazard gave me to you specifically because of my unruly behavior, and getting me under control would please him. Since I hate you, I have no reason to keep you happy."_

_Genesis could have choked him. "What do you want?" he asked, speaking through his teeth._

_Humming softly, Noir closed the distance between them and hooked his arms around Genesis' neck. Genesis tried to step back, but Noir wouldn't let him. "I want you to do something for me..."_

* * *

"This was one of our missions."

Noir didn't even bother glancing back as they made their way across the catwalk over the sea of mako far below. "Perceptive as always, Commander. It was our first."

"I suppose this was your idea," Genesis said. A pair of bat-like monsters were perched on the railing. As the two SOLDIERs passed, they took off. Genesis let them be.

"Haven't you ever wondered what it would be like to relive the past? What decisions would we make different? What ones would we leave the same?"

"Everyone wonders that, and it's bloody pointless. We can't relive the past, no matter how much we want to."

Noir's stride faltered. "Perhaps such endeavors are pointless. Perhaps it would take reliving hundreds of lives to undo a single action. But does that stop us from wanting it?" He turned to stand against the railing, facing out over the reactor. "Why did you want me to come with you?"

"I work better with someone I'm not competing against," Genesis replied, coming to a halt at Noir's shoulder. "Sephiroth and Angeal cooperate much better than I do, anyway."

"Could it be because you missed me?"

Genesis snorted. "Missed you?"

"I've been waiting to see you again." Noir laughed lightly. "Three years, I've been waiting. And I've been patient, haven't I? I've been so good..."

_Good._ Genesis had heard that word too many times for it to have any real meaning anymore.

"I think about you every day now. You haven't forgotten what you promised me, have you?"

"...I remember. But that was four years ago, Noir."

"I wasn't aware your promises had expiration dates. Should I have made an appointment to renew it?"

Genesis eyed the back of his head sourly. "You're still here, aren't you?"

"Are you suggesting that we pick up where we left off?" Noir spun around, leaning back against the railing. "Shall I assume the part of the scorned lover? Or do you still believe that role rightfully belongs to you?"

"I should've left you for Angeal to deal with," Genesis grumbled, starting off down the catwalk again.

Noir's laughter followed behind him. "And leave your childhood friend to suffer a terrible fate? You're a cruel man, Commander Rhapsodos."

Despite their reprieve on the catwalk, they made good time getting down to the reactor core. Genesis opted not to send Noir on ahead, as he had done in the original mission, however. While a part of him wanted to spite Noir by forcing events to occur exactly as they had four years ago, he wasn't interested in letting his partner go on a killing spree again.

"Wait out here," he ordered as he stepped into the reactor core.

Noir smirked. "Toying with fate?"

Genesis' response was to slam the door in his face. The sound, of course, alerted the Wutaians, but—unlike the first time—Genesis was ready for them. The simulations frantically scrambled to their feet, brandishing their weapons, but by the time shots began to fire, Genesis had already flung Energy into two of them. Drawing Rapier, he plunged into the fray. He made quick work of them; ShinRa still hadn't done much to bump up the difficulty of their Wutaian soldier simulations. Genesis was glad, however, the simulations fizzled out of existence before they hit the floor. He wasn't sure he would've been able to handle seeing bodies littering the floor.

As he made his way towards the core, where the bomb had been situated, something began to bother him. He couldn't remember much of the mission, save for witnessing Noir's bloodlust in action for the first time, but his gut instinct told him he was forgetting something very important. Even Sephiroth had mentioned remembering the mission, and he hadn't been on it. Why would Sephiroth remember it? Furrowing his brow, Genesis knelt down in front of the bomb and stared at it blankly. He chewed on his lower lip. He remembered discussing Noir's actions with Angeal while he'd been in the infirmary.

_Why was I in the infirmary?_

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps. Genesis slowly rose to his feet just as another Wutaian came into view. Noir was hot on his heels with a big, happy grin on his face. The Wutaian flung himself onto a ladder and clambering up it as quickly as he could. A few moments later, the two were racing across the catwalk and then they were gone.

Genesis' heartbeat quickened.

In the original mission, Noir had been the one to clear the reactor core and disable the bomb. It was _him_ who had chased that Wutaian, all the way up to the very top of the reactor. That night, the skies had opened up and the rain was pouring, so the metal roof was slippery and the railing was old...

He'd fallen.

_"__I want you do to something for me."_

_Noir's gaze was so intense that Genesis found it difficult to breathe._

_"__I want you to be my friend."_

Genesis raced towards the ladder. He wasn't sure what kind of damage falling from the top of a mako reactor would do in a simulation, but he sure as hell wasn't about to find out.

_"__Keep me alive, teach me to be human. If you can't do that... then I want you to kill me."_

_Genesis swallowed thickly. "Why are you asking me this? I thought you hated me."_

_"__I do." Noir laughed softly. "I hate you more than I hate anyone else on the entire planet. But... maybe if I can hate like this, then... maybe I can learn to love."_

When Genesis burst out onto the roof, the rain was blowing and Noir was nowhere in sight. Panicked, he ran for the railing.

"I see. You really do remember."

Through the blackness and rain, Genesis could barely make out Noir's coat. He was perched on the very edge of the railing, further down the roof. "Noir!" he called over the noise. "Noir, get back here!"

"While your motives may be valiant, you chose... poorly."

Genesis caught a flicker of movement, and then Noir was gone.

_"__No!"_

Suddenly, the world around him began to collapse into pixelated fragments and he was back in the VR room. Genesis whipped off his glasses and lunged for Noir, slamming him up against the wall.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he shouted. "Do you know what happens when you fall like that in a simulation? Because I don't! In what universe are you living in that makes your twisted mind think that was a good idea?"

A smile crept across Noir's face, which made Genesis' blood boil. "Did I make you worry?"

"_Yes_, damn it!" Bowing his head, he drove his fist into the wall beside Noir's head. "Because there's this stupid part of me that's still guilty."

Noir laughed softly. "That really is stupid."

Genesis roughly pulled Noir to his chest, burying his face in his shoulder. In the wee hours of the night, when the thought usually came to him, he was able to convince himself that Noir had been the stupid one. Stupid to trust him, stupid to think Genesis would uphold promises of friendship, stupid to think his hatred wouldn't eventually win out in the end. Stupid to think he wouldn't be able to look everyone else in the eye and claim Noir was the crazy one, and stupid to think no one else would believe it. The truth was that they were both waiting to snap. The question was merely who would snap first.

"I know," Genesis whispered. "I know."

* * *

**A/N:** Before I get questions about it again, _no_, Genesis and Noir weren't lovers. Noir (believe it or not) has no grasp on the concept of love.

BUT something obviously happened between them. Will we ever find out what it was? Next chapter, maybe Cloud will finally confront Vivien. Or, y'know, just chicken out.

Thanks for reading!

**_RegenesisX_**


	13. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:** The truth behind Vivien: revealed! Also known as the Everyone Gets Super Emotional chapter. Also, most of this chapter was written half sleep-deprived. So there's that.

* * *

**LEGACY**

_"Are sins ever forgiven...?" ~ Cloud Strife_

Genesis didn't have enough time to shove Noir onto the floor when Sephiroth poked his head into his apartment.

"Do you have a moment?" Sephiroth eyed Noir, who was sound asleep with his head on Genesis' lap. "I can return later if you are... indisposed."

Raking a hand through his hair, Genesis sighed. "No, you might as well just come in. He could sleep through the apocalypse, and even if he does wake up, he'll leave."

"...Very well." Sephiroth let himself in and took a seat on the armchair.

_Cloud's armchair,_ Genesis had started calling it.

"Are you angry with me?"

Genesis furrowed his brow. "Why would I be angry with you?"

"I fear I may have offended you by saying we weren't evenly matched... I wasn't trying to suggest you are somehow inferior to me." Sephiroth pulled his legs up onto the chair and leaned back, idly playing with the fringe on one of the pillows. "I just didn't want you to lose and be unhappy."

It was easy to forget how easily hurt Sephiroth could be. Merciless as he was on the battlefield, Genesis had left more than his fair share of bruises on Sephiroth's fragile emotions. Genesis had to constantly remind himself how hard it was for his friend when he constantly flew from one extreme to the next.

"No, I'm not angry with you," Genesis said, gently combing his fingers through Noir's thick hair.

"Then why didn't you want to work with me today?"

Genesis' hands stilled. "Is that what you're upset about?"

Sephiroth hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"It wasn't anything personal, I just prefer not to work with my competitors. Although, working with Noir might not have been the right choice either."

"Did something happen?"

"The mission seemed familiar because it was. It was one of ours; the one where I ended up in the infirmary after falling off of the top of the reactor." Genesis glanced down at Noir. "He had it recreated to see what choices I would make differently."

"And what choices did you make?" Sephiroth asked.

"I failed." Genesis throat locked halfway through the admission, as if his body refused to hear it out loud. "I failed the mission. I let Noir run up to the roof instead of me, and the bomb went off and cut the simulation because I went after him. I failed because I tried to save him." He found himself choking back tears as he shook his head. "I don't know what that's supposed to mean."

Noir made a soft whimpering noise in his sleep and, without thinking, Genesis sought out his hand to intertwine their fingers.

"He doesn't sleep well," Genesis explained to Sephiroth, "so he doesn't sleep at all, until he passes out from exhaustion. The only time he feels comfortable enough to sleep is if he's with someone else. Because of the nightmares."

"That's kind of you to offer him companionship."

Genesis looked away. "I can't have Cloud's instructor unable to teach."

"Are acts of kindness really so hard for you to admit?" Sephiroth asked. "If you're willing to help another person, even if you hate them, that isn't anything to be ashamed of. It's honorable."

_Honor._ Someone really needed to come up with a new word.

"Too many good deeds would ruin my reputation."

"But one good deed every once and a while won't kill you, will it?"

Noir shifted on Genesis' lap, rolling onto his back and blearily blinking open his eyes. "What time's it?" he mumbled.

Genesis twisted around to peek at the clock hanging on the back wall. "Almost nine."

"Oh." Jaws stretching wide in a yawn, Noir sat up. He pressed a chaste kiss to Genesis' cheek. "I should go. I'm meeting someone."

"This late?"

"It's not the sort of meeting you're thinking of, Commander," Noir said. He retrieved his coat from where he'd flung it over the back of the couch and sauntered towards the door. "Hopefully, if everything goes well, I'll be able to get some more sleep tonight. _Even if the marrow is barren of promises, _Commander."

"Believe me, I didn't choose him because I like him more than I like you," Genesis said, once Noir had left. "I just thought he would be useful to me. But Noir is hard to use when he has his own agenda."

"What are you going to do if we're required to complete a mission cooperatively again?"

Genesis finally met Sephiroth's eyes for the first time. The hurt was gone, which soothed him more than it should have. Guilt felt like it weighed too heavily on his shoulders lately. "I don't know."

* * *

Following the posting of the results of their game of Capture the Flag, nearly a quarter of the class did not show up Tuesday morning. The remaining group was a small one, but Cloud was pleased that he knew everyone's name and had spoken to them all at least once, as opposed to being lost in a sea of cadets in Instructor Davis' class. Noir's point system may have been harsh, but it made quick work of slackers.

No more of his equipment turned up missing or damaged, so Cloud's week progressed well. He pushed himself hard in Noir's class, as well as in his training with Genesis, and made up a considerable amount of points. By the middle of the week, Cloud had managed to graduate from his Fire, Blizzard, and Thunder to Fira, Blizzara, and Thundara, and Genesis had taught him a disarming moves that he used very successfully on Jadak during their sparring matches. Things were finally starting to look up.

And then there was the matter of Vivien.

Ever since their hurried conversation in the locker room on Monday, Cloud hadn't been able to work up enough nerve to confront him again. The lock had done its job of warding off potential intruders, but what puzzled him the most was that, despite that, Vivien had been in an unusually good mood all week. He sang obnoxiously loudly in the locker room, smiled at everyone, and—most shockingly—did not flirt. Belle and Renata seemed confused by his behavior as well, whispering to each other whenever Vivien floated away. Cloud couldn't figure it out.

And while Vivien was off in his own little world, Cloud also noticed Eve growing steadily more sour over the course of the week. He was never mean, but he brushed off greetings and isolated himself from the rest of the class whenever he could. Cloud itched to ask him what was wrong, but if he'd learned anything from Noir, it was not to stick his nose into Décès business uninvited.

On Friday, the building tension finally snapped.

Cloud easily parried Belle's attack, returning with a thrust of his own. The tip of his sword came to rest against Belle's neck. "You yield?"

"If we must."

"You're getting a lot better," Cloud said, stepping back and lowering his sword. "You just need to stop second-guessing yourself."

Belle sighed down at his sword. "We find this weapon to be quite cumbersome."

"It takes getting used to. Genesis always tells me to think of it as an extension of myself." He gave Belle an encouraging smile. "Just don't rush yourself."

"Sparring with Cloud has helped us a lot," Belle said. "Genesis is teaching you well."

A blush crept up to Cloud's cheeks and he shrugged. "I'm not really that good. You're much better with materia."

"Belle is better than everyone with materia. Discovering one's strengths and weaknesses is a part of learning; we draw on your strength with the sword, and in turn, we share our knowledge of materia." He tilted his head to the side. "This is teamwork, isn't it?"

"Yeah... I guess it is."

"We have never enjoyed teamwork, but... Cloud is not so bad to work with."

Flattered, Cloud opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by commotion on the other side of the training room. Noir, it appeared, had stepped forward to correct Eve's posture, but Eve wasn't having any of it. He whipped around to roughly shove his older brother away, then hesitated for a moment before winding an arm back to drive his first straight into Noir's nose.

"Don't touch me!" he shrieked. "I don't need your help, damn it—just _stay away from me!"_

Noir staggered backwards, eyes wide, and clapped a hand over his face. Blood seeped out between his fingers.

Cloud understood the reason behind the whole exchange right up until the part where Vivien lunged for Eve and shook him by the shoulders. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he snapped. "He was just trying to help you!"

Eve bared his teeth. "And I don't want his help."

"Oh, so you thought breaking his damn nose would clue him in? Is there something wrong with you mouth?" One of Vivien's hands wrapped around Eve's throat. "I can break your jaw if you're done using it."

"What the hell do you even know, Vivien?" Eve hissed, ripping Vivien's hands away. "Maybe if you pulled your head out of your ass for long enough, you'd realize there's more to the universe than _you_ and what _you_ want."

"Because I'm supposed to care so much about you, when you throw away letters from your mother without even reading them and hit your older brother when he's trying to help you? Oh, yeah, I'm _so _inclined to care about a selfish prick like you!"

Noir finally seemed to recover from his shock and stepped over to lay the hand that wasn't covering his nose on Vivien's shoulder. "Leave him alone, Vivien."

"But he—"

_"__Vivien."_ Noir leaned closer and said something too softly for Cloud to hear. Whatever it was, it worked, because Vivien shot one final glare at Eve before stalking back over to Renata. Noir avoided eye-contact with Eve as he moved to cross the room towards Cloud. "If you would, please, continue class."

Suddenly, the coveted tablet was placed in Cloud's hands.

"I don't know if I'll be back," he said, turning away. The class was silent as he disappeared into his office.

The moment Noir was gone, Eve spun on his heel and marched to the locker room.

Cloud looked from Belle to Vivien to Renata to Jadak and back to the tablet, speechless.

Then someone piped up, "Can I look at my grade?"

* * *

With the help of Jadak, Cloud managed to ward off the few noisy students who wanted to take a peek at The Tablet and class was more or less able to continue. They finished their sparring sessions, during which Cloud encouraged everyone to provide constructive criticism for their partners, and then Jadak finished off the class by leading them in sword drills. Neither Eve nor Noir returned, and Vivien remained silent. He was the first one out of the training room when class ended.

Cloud rapped twice on Noir's office door before poking his head in. The room was pitch black. "Um, sir? I'm here to return your tablet..."

The desk lamp flicked on. Two red splatters on the lapel of Noir's coat were all that remained of his bloody noise, but his eyes were bloodshot and puffy, like he'd been crying. When his spoke, his voice was soft and strained. "Set it on the desk."

Cloud stepped forward and placed the tablet on the desk beside a stack of papers. "Are you alright?"

"Do you remember those sins I told you about?"

"...Yes, sir."

"He blames me for everything. I'm the reason he was blind. I'm the reason he had no friends. I'm the reason he was ignored. I'm the reason father left. I'm the reason mother never paid attention to him." Noir pulled his knees up to his chest and buried his face in them. "I destroy everything I touch, so why should I be allowed to touch him? What has he done to deserve it?"

"I don't know much about sins, sir," Cloud said quietly. "But I know all we can do about them is ask forgiveness."

"Can sins really be forgiven?"

Cloud drummed his fingers on the edge of the desk. "I think they can. Otherwise, we'd collapse."

Noir shook his head. "Eve is never going to forgive me."

"I wish I could forgive you for him."

Leaning back in his chair, Noir regarded Cloud for several long moments. "I was so sure I was going to hate you," he murmured. "I thought you were going to be another Genesis Rhapsodos and I would hate you just as much as I hate him, but you're different. I hate you, and yet... I wish I could keep you close."

"Why do you hate Genesis so much?" Cloud asked.

"I am destruction incarnate. Genesis is destruction perfected. We're two sides of the same coin. He's just the better side." Noir's expression darkened. "He's a madman with a mask. I'm just a madman. I hate him for having what I don't."

"Genesis isn't crazy."

"The fact that you think that shows that you still don't know him as well as you think you do." Noir looked him directly in the eye and for the first time, Cloud could have been fooled into thinking he was sane. "Believe me, Commander Rhapsodos is crazy."

* * *

It was getting on towards nine o'clock when a knock on the door pulled Cloud out of his reading. He set his book aside and shuffled over to the door, wondering who on Gaia wanted to see him this late. Jadak was still out with Zol, but he wouldn't knock to get back into his own room. His instincts were proved right, because it was Vivien on the other side of the door. Or, at least, Cloud assumed it was Vivien. He didn't know anyone else who would be brave enough to wear knee-high stiletto boots and skintight silver leggings in public.

"Are you busy?" he asked. His words were heavy; obviously, he'd been drinking.

Cloud shook his head.

"Can we talk? I just really need somebody to talk to."

"Yeah, sure." Cloud stepped back, allowing Vivien into the room. This was his chance to finally get some answers about the sabotage. "What's up?"

Vivien sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling one of his feet up to run his fingers along the slender heel of his boot. Cloud took a seat near him and waited. It wasn't until Vivien lifted a hand to wipe at his face that Cloud realized tears were running down his face. "H-He doesn't want me."

The statement was not the one Cloud had expected. He awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, trying to determine who Vivien might be referring to. "Um, well, I'm sure Belle cares—"

"Not _Belle_, dammit," Vivien spat. Balling his fist, he punched the mattress. "I know he doesn't give two shits about me. If we hadn't grown up together, he wouldn't even bother pretending. It's... It's Noir."

"_Noir?"_

Vivien nodded, sniffling. The heavy black makeup around his eyes had began to run. "We started seeing each other, b-but he said I was getting too attached because of what happened in class today. H-He told me not to come around anymore... I really liked him—I was _happy._ B-But now he doesn't want me anymore..."

It was Cloud's first instinct to scoot across the bed and pull Vivien into a hug when he suddenly burst into heaving sobs. His mind, however, was racing in an entirely different direction. "Wait... So, Saturday night when you came out of the locker room, you were there to see _Noir?"_

He felt Vivien nod against his shoulder.

"Why didn't you just tell me? Why didn't you want anyone to know?"

"I d-didn't want it to get back to B-Belle and Ren... Th-they would've tried to talk me out of it because they think my sex life is their business. They d-don't understand."

"You could've just asked me not to tell them," Cloud said. "I thought you were... I though it was _you_ who was..."

Vivien lifted his head. "You thought it was _me _trying to sabotage you?" he asked, horrified. "Goddess Cloud, I would never do anything like that."

"I thought maybe you were jealous that I was training with Genesis..."

"Maybe I am." Vivien cracked a tiny smile. "But if I cozy up to you, you might be more inclined to introduce me. Not that I've had much luck with Firsts..."

"Why Noir?" Cloud had to ask. "I mean, he's not exactly... I can't really imagine him... y'know..."

"You have a poor imagination. Noir is a good lover. I've never been with anyone like him. He's everything I could've asked for... Except he doesn't want me."

Never having been in a romantic relationship before, Cloud ordinarily wouldn't have any explanations for Noir's behavior, but one snippet of their conversation earlier floated back into his head. _"I destroy everything I touch, so why should I be allowed to touch him? What has he done to deserve that?"_

While Cloud had been certain he'd been referring to Eve at the time, it was possible Noir had been talking about Vivien as well.

"I don't think he was pushing you away because he doesn't care," Cloud said at length. "I think he doesn't want to hurt you."

Vivien shook his head. "What did he think telling me to piss off was going to do?"

"No, I mean I don't think he wanted to _hurt_ you. Physically. He's really dangerous, Vivien."

"I can handle him."

While his confidence was admirable, it was definitely misplaced. "It's not something he has control over."

"What if I don't care?"

"Vivien..."

"Don't feed me bullshit about what you think my feelings are and how I should live my life," Vivien snapped. "Yeah, I've used a lot of people in the past to try to get over Belle, but Noir is different. I can look at him without seeing Belle. I want him for _him._ Maybe I'm stupid, but I just want to try."

Cloud let out a heavy sigh. It was obvious there wasn't anything he could say that would convince Vivien otherwise. "I don't know what to tell you, then."

Vivien's expression softened and he kissed Cloud's cheek. "You're sweet for trying to help. I'm sure you weren't in a hurry to hear that I'm sleeping with our instructor."

"Not exactly..."

"It's not even so much that the sex is good—I mean, the sex is fantastic. But he's adorably neurotic about everything and he likes to be held all the time and he gets this hilarious confused look on his face whenever he can't figure out if I'm joking or not and he—" A blush dusted Vivien's already-flushed cheeks. "I'm sorry. I'm talking too much."

From Vivien's description, Cloud could almost believe Noir wasn't a man locked in a vicious battle for his sanity. "You really like him, don't you?"

Vivien nodded shyly.

Cloud found himself almost hoping things would work out between them.

"Hey, um... Do you think I could spend the night here?" Vivien asked. "Belle will read me the riot act if I go to his room, and there's no way I'm getting anywhere near Eve."

"Well..." Cloud glanced over at Jadak's empty bed, trying to come up with a good enough explanation for his roommate not to kick _both_ of them out.

"I promise I'll be good," Vivien purred, batting his eyelashes. The fact that makeup was streaked all over his face made him look pathetic.

"I guess..."

Vivien grinned and reached down to yank off his boots. When he went for the waistband of his pants, however, Cloud lunged for his wrists.

"What are you doing?"

"I hate sleeping with pants on." Vivien wiggled out of Cloud's grip and shimmied his pants off. "Usually I sleep naked, but you'd probably get a few awkward questions from Jadak if I did that."

Oh, he was still going to get awkward questions. And death threats. Lots of death threats.

Vivien flopped down beside Cloud, his back to the wall. "Really, darling. I love you, but you're just not my type."

The evening's lingerie selection appeared to be neon yellow lace. Who wore neon yellow lace?

"Mm... Like what you see, darling?"

Cloud's eyes bugged out. "Th-that's not what I—_NO!"_

"Have I told you that you're cute when you blush?"

* * *

**A/N:** Even when he's drunk and heartbroken, Vivien still won't give Cloud a break. He just loves to tease.

In the next chapter, Vivien will be sober and Noir has an announcement about their next assessment...

Thanks for reading!

**_RegenesisX_**


	14. Interlude III

**Author's Note: **It's a super-secret interlude! This time, for Vivien. Here's a little glimpse into what's happened in his past...

* * *

**LEGACY**

**Interlude**

_Vivien hadn't managed to finish stripping fast enough to get in the shower to avoid answering the timid knock that sounded at the door. Renata must've been waiting up for him. "Come in," he called, whipping the towel off the rack and wrapping it tightly around his shoulders._

_Renata's little hand appeared around the edge of the door, wrestling with it for a moment before he was able to get it open far enough. His short brown hair was sticking up in all directions. He shuffled into the bathroom, keeping his eyes on the grubby tile floor. Vivien absently added cleaning it to his list of things to do. Mold was starting to reign supreme._

_"__Well?" Vivien prompted when Renata's silence persisted. "What is it?"_

_"__You went out again."_

_"__Yeah. I go out sometimes."_

_"__But you went out last night, too."_

_Vivien chewed his lower lip impatiently. He could feel something running down the inside of his leg. Blood, probably. "What's your point?"_

_"__I don't like it when you go out at night. You come back really late." Renata peeked up at him through his long bangs. Vivien would have to trim them. "And sometimes you're really weird when you get home."_

_"__What do you mean, I'm weird?" Vivien asked hesitantly._

_"__I dunno... You're just... not normal. Weird. I don't like it."_

_"__Am I weird now?"_

_"__I don't think so," Renata whispered. "I don't know."_

_So, Renata had noticed. The kid had always noticed more than Vivien had given him credit for. "Renny, it's late, okay? Go back to bed. We'll talk about this in the morning—"_

_"__No!"_

_The outburst seemed to echo through the dingy bathroom._

_"__That's what you always tell me; we'll talk about it later. But you never do." Sniffling, Renata lifted a hand to wipe at his eyes. "I know what you're doing, okay? You're going out and you're doing something that you aren't supposed to for money."_

_Vivien narrowed his eyes. "How do you know about that?"_

_"__Belle told me. He told me that you told him that you'd rather sell yourself on the streets than wait around at the orphanage and that's what you're doing, isn't it?"_

_"__Renata—"_

_"__You've been promising me everything is going to be okay, but it isn't, is it? It's not okay! Nothing is okay!" The tears flowed freely and Renata spoke between heaving sobs. "Belle said you'd get hurt if you tried, a-and you're getting hurt, aren't you?"_

_The blood had reached his ankle, but Vivien wasn't about to look down and check if it was pooling on the floor. "I'm fine, Renny."_

_"__You're not fine!" _

_Vivien wasn't quick enough to pull away when Renata reached for the towel. He yanked it back, but it was too late. Renata had seen the bruises splattered on him. A heavy silence descended, punctuated only by Renata's hiccuping sobs._

_"__Wh-why?" he asked, voice trembling. "Why do you let them do this to you?"_

_"__It pays well."_

_"__That's not—"_

_"__Shut up! You don't know anything. It's my body, I can do whatever the hell I want with it," Vivien spat hotly. "Maybe I'm good at it. Maybe I like it because I'm wanted for the first time in my life, even if it is just for sex. And here I am, letting my body get bruised and abused for _you. _I hate you!_"

_"__Vivien, I didn't mean..."_

_"__Just shut up, you stupid, selfish brat!" The nearest thing on the counter, a can of hairspray, found its way into Vivien's hand and he lobbed it at Renata. The can clipped Renata in the shoulder, eliciting a shriek from him. Trembling, Vivien lifted a hand to his mouth. "O-Oh, goddess, I... Baby, I'm sorry..."_

_Renata willingly accepted Vivien's embrace and allowed himself to be pulled to the floor. Vivien leaned up against the vanity, holding him and biting back tears of his own. _

_"__I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he whispered. "I love you, Renny. I'll always love you. It's just hard, okay? I promised that I would take care of you and I'm doing everything I can to make sure I keep that promise."_

_Renata nuzzled into his shoulder. Vivien could feel wet teardrops against his bare skin. "I don't want to lose you, too..."_

_"__I'm not going anywhere, baby."_

_"__But what if—"_

_"__Shh." Vivien rested his chin on top of Renata's head. "Don't think about the things that might happen."_

_"__I want you to stop."_

_Vivien sighed, pressing his cheek against the cabinet door. It was easy enough to pass himself off as sixteen—seventeen if he did his makeup just right. Men were lured with nothing more than a bat of his false eyelashes. They would buy him drinks, sometimes slip him drugs, and take him home. Sometimes, he enjoyed it. Sometimes, he was wasted enough to pretend he enjoyed it. Sometimes, as he was kissed and touched, he wondered why he hadn't started doing it sooner when no more than a flick of his hips could have him drowning in undivided attention. He wondered why, when his hooks sank so deeply and securely in everyone else, Belle had never fallen for it._

_"__I know, Renny. I know."_

* * *

**A/N:** Vivien was a hooker. Are we surprised.

Thanks for reading!

**_RegenesisX_**


	15. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: ** When I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like I was going to throw up, I wasn't sure I'd be well enough to finish this today. But I am, so happy day.

* * *

**LEGACY**

_"We're friends, right?" ~ Zack Fair_

"Ew. Why are you putting so much sugar in it?"

"How can you just have yours black?"

To say Jadak was upset upon finding Vivien half-naked in his roommate's bed was an understatement. There was swearing, there was sulking, there was slamming of doors. Cloud was mortified, but Vivien just laughed. At first, Cloud assumed his dislike stemmed from the fact that he found Vivien's flamboyance offensive, but quickly realized Jadak couldn't have cared less about Vivien's sexual preferences. Jadak hated him because of his superior skills in battle.

Much to Cloud's relief, Vivien cooperated and didn't molest him in his sleep. Cloud knew because he'd been lying awake most of the night, worrying. Worrying about Noir and Eve, worrying about the identity of his saboteur, worrying about their next upcoming assessment, worrying about Jadak trying to stab Vivien in the middle of the night. He ended up waking Vivien a half-hour before the alarm went off to drag him up three floors to the ShinRa library, where, as Genesis had so graciously informed him, they served free coffee in the mornings.

"I like my coffee to match my soul," Vivien said, slumping in one of the cushioned library chairs. "Bitter as hell."

Cloud hissed when the hot coffee burned his tongue, but forced himself to choke it down anyway. "You're not bitter. Are you?"

"You've met Belle."

"Is he why?"

"Well... he's a part of it." Vivien stared into his coffee. "My mother was a prostitute. I don't know who my father is. When I was five, she finally had enough of me and dumped me at an orphanage in the slums. That's where I met Belle. I wanted to be friends with him so badly, but he was never interested." A rueful smile crossed his face. "It hurts, you know? To be forced onto your knees only to have your face shoved in the dirt."

"But you're friends now, aren't you?"

"Only because of Renata. And I wouldn't exactly say Belle and I are _friends_. He tolerates me."

Cloud stirred his drink. He could almost relate, having wanted to be friends with Tifa for so many years. He wasn't sure if what they were when he left qualified as "friends" either, but they were further along than Belle and Vivien, at any rate. "Was Renata at the orphanage, too?"

Vivien nodded. "He came a few years later—parents died in a fire. He was the first one to catch Belle's attention, and the two were practically inseparable. You can imagine how jealous I was."

"So, what happened?"

"Belle was adopted by some rich family from above the plate when he was nine. Before he went, he made me promise to look out for Renata," Vivien said. "I hated Ren, but I promised anyway because it was Belle who was asking me to. I would've done anything for him. I still would."

"You hated Renata? But aren't you friends now, too?"

Vivien shrugged, offering a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I don't hate him anymore. We've lived together for too long for that. When I was twelve, I took him and left the orphanage. Living on the streets in the slums wasn't much better, but I've always preferred making my own rules."

"How did the three of you end up joining SOLDIER?" Cloud asked. "Was it just by chance that Belle happened to decide to at the same time you did?"

"No, I ran into Belle above the plate about a year-and-a-half ago and we decided to stay in contact. As for SOLDIER..." Vivien giggled impishly. "Let's just say that Angeal Hewely did _not_ appreciate being propositioned by a scantily-clad sixteen-year-old in shitty nightclub."

Cloud's eyes bugged out and he nearly choked on his coffee. "You did that?" He tried to imagine Zack's mentor even _interacting_ with Vivien and failed miserably. "What did he do?"

"He gave me a lecture about honor and respecting myself. Things weren't going so well for me at the time, so, of course, I burst into tears. He asked me if I'd ever considered joining SOLDIER," he said. "I'd seen ShinRa's posters around the city, but I'd never thought of myself as good enough to join. Angeal told me if I worked hard, then I would be good enough. I think he was subtly trying to discourage me from prostitution."

"You were a prostitute?"

Vivien grinned, wagging his eyebrows. "I was. Now I do it for free."

"Wasn't this supposed to be a serious conversation?" Cloud asked, fighting off his blush.

"Serious is boring. I'd have killed myself a long time ago were I not able to roll with the punches." Vivien leaned closer, lowering his voice. "But, between you and I, I'm not sure how much longer I could've gone on with the way things were going. Angeal Hewely probably saved my life."

"So, you're repaying him by becoming an avid member of his best friend's fan club?"

"Yep! _My friend, your desire is the bringer of life, the gift of the goddess."_

_"__LOVELESS_, Act Three. Very good—as expected from any pupil of mine."

Cloud twisted in his chair to see Genesis standing behind them. His hair was rumpled and he wore an oversized red sweatshirt over his uniform pants and boots. He'd obviously woken up late and was trying to grab coffee and sneak into his office before Lazard noticed his absence. Cloud had covered for him more than once.

"You could do with some studying up," Genesis said, giving Cloud's nose a tap.

Cloud swatted at his hand. "I can barely remember my times tables."

"Rote memorization isn't my forte either, and yet..." Genesis tilted his head towards Vivien. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh. Genesis, this is Vivien. Vivien, this is Commander Rhapsodos."

Vivien was practically vibrating as he reached out to shake hands with Genesis. "It certainly is a pleasure to meet _you_, sir," he purred.

"The pleasure is all mine." Genesis bent to brush his lips across Vivien's knuckles. When he straightened up, he arched a questioning eyebrow at Vivien's attire. "Are you trying to give the librarians heart attacks?"

Giddy, Vivien glanced down at his bare legs. He still hadn't put on his pants. "I thought it would be more liberating."

"I suppose if you have something to show off, you might as well show it off." Ignoring Vivien's floored expression, Genesis turned back to Cloud. "Will I see you this afternoon?"

Cloud blinked a few times, trying to process the idea that Vivien had flirted with Genesis, and that Genesis had flirted _back._ "Uh, uh, yeah. Sure."

"Good. Bring your friend to training sometime. I'd like to see if he's as good as he looks."

_"__What?"_ Cloud hissed, trying not to laugh.

Genesis waved at him where Vivien couldn't see and mouthed _Later._ "See you, my dear."

Vivien peeked over the back of his chair to watch the commander leave. His eyes were glittering. "Oh my God. Is he for real? If I weren't so stuck on Noir, I'd let him do terrible, terrible things to my body. Hot damn."

"I don't know; I've never seen him act like that before," Cloud admitted. "But Genesis has always been full of surprises."

* * *

The atmosphere in the locker room that morning was tense. Eve was surly and snapped at anyone who came even remotely near him, while Vivien looked like he wanted to melt into the floor. Belle approached him once, but Vivien shrugged him off and refused to speak with him.

So, naturally, the next step was to interrogate Cloud.

"Has Vivien been with you?" Belle demanded.

Cloud glanced over at Vivien, debating whether or not to tell the truth. "Well... Kind of..."

"Was he?"

"He slept over last night."

"Vivien slept with Cloud?"

"Yes—No! Not _slept_ with me, he just came over and we were in the same bed because Jadak—"

Belle held up a hand to stop him. "Who is Vivien sleeping with?"

"I don't think I'm supposed to tell you..."

"Is it Eve?"

"N-no," Cloud stammered. "I mean, I'm sure Eve knew and that's why he was mad."

"Who is it, then? Noir?"

"Y—" Cloud covered his mouth. "I promised I wouldn't say."

Belle reached out to snatch the front of his shirt. "Cloud will tell Belle," he said slowly, "because Belle is asking. Is Vivien sleeping with Noir?"

The words felt like they were being ripped from his throat. "They were, b-but I guess they broke up or something..."

Belle's eyes fell shut and he let out a deep breath, releasing Cloud's shirt. When he opened his eyes again, he was considerably calmer. "Cloud has been very good to us. He helps Belle and does as Belle asks. We appreciate that Cloud has not pursued us in any fashion."

Cloud cast a guilty glance over at Vivien. He didn't like getting caught between the two of them. Vivien had his reasons for not wanting Belle to know, while Belle had his reasons for wanting to drag it out in the open. "Well, we're friends, right?" he asked weakly.

"Friends." The faint smile reappeared. "Yes, we're friends."

Cloud had never been so happy to see Noir once they were all out in the training room. Belle had taken up a spot on one side of Cloud, while Vivien stubbornly stood on the other. He felt like a tug-of-war rope. Noir, however, exhibited no ill effects of the previous day's ordeal.

"Before today's activities begin, I have an announcement," he said, not bothering to look up from his tablet. "A small mission has been posted and as I am moderately pleased with some of your progress, I have selected four of you to accompany me. This will be in place of your challenge. Those of you who are not selected for this first mission will be taken out in the weeks following. So, Eve, Vivien, Jadak, and Cloud will be flying out to Nibelheim with me tomorrow morning."

Cloud's stomach flip-flopped. _Nibelheim?_ That meant he'd get to see his mother and Tifa. Then a sludgy feeling settled in his gut when his companions' names caught up to him. Eve, Vivien, _and_ Noir? It would be a miracle if they made it back alive, even if they successfully completed the mission.

* * *

Genesis had fallen asleep at his desk by the time Cloud walked in. Closing the door softly behind him, Cloud tiptoed over to the desk and nudged Genesis' shoulder. He received no response.

_Nudge, nudge, nudge—crash!_

Genesis woke with a start, eyes flying open. He brandished his weapon of choice, a can opener, and Cloud threw his hands up in defense. "It's just me!"

"Oh. Sorry." With a heavy sigh, Genesis set down the can opener and rubbed his eyes. "I guess I was asleep."

"I guess so. Were you up late last night?"

"Not really. I just haven't been sleeping well lately. Noir's been rubbing off on me."

"Huh?"

Genesis leaned back in his chair, pulling one of his legs up. "Noir can't sleep unless he's with someone else; otherwise, he has nightmares. With how he is when he's awake, I can't imagine what kind of horrors exist in his subconscious."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense," Cloud said.

"Hmm?"

"Well, Vivien—" He covered his mouth. "I'm not sure I'm supposed to tell you."

Genesis' expression turned deadpan. "Who am _I_ going to tell?"

Cloud shrugged, sheepish. "W-Well..." He perched himself on the edge of the desk. "I was going to say that it makes sense why Noir would sleep with Vivien. E-Even though I think they did more than just sleep."

"Ah. Noir can be just as incurable a flirt as Vivien, when he wants to."  
"I know," Cloud muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." He quickly sought out a new subject. "Speaking of flirting, what was all of that with Vivien this morning?"

A silly grin spread over Genesis' face. "There are just some people in this world who appreciate that sort of interaction. Don't tell me that didn't make his day."

Knowing Vivien, it probably had. "But isn't that mean? Aren't you, like, leading him on?"

"It wasn't as if I said anything I didn't mean. I wouldn't mind if you brought him with you to training sometime and he _does_ have nice legs," Genesis said with a shrug. "Besides that, any friend of _LOVELESS_ is a friend of mine."

"Should Noir be jealous?"

Genesis snorted, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. "Dear Gaia, no. Noir can peruse whoever the hell he wants, so long as it isn't me."

_Or, y'know, me._ Cloud picked up one of the can openers laying on the desk next to him and turned it over in his hands. "Noir said that he's taking some of us out on a mission in place of our challenge tomorrow."

"Are you nervous?" Genesis asked, eying his can opener uncertainly.

"Kind of. He said we're going to Nibelheim, so I'll get to see my mother... but Vivien and Eve are coming along too, and I don't know what Noir's thinking. As far as I know, those two still want to kill each other."

"Why? What happened?"

"Well, Eve hit Noir yesterday in class and gave him a bloody nose, and since Vivien was still with Noir at the time, he went after Eve." Cloud huffed out a sigh. "And now _Belle_ is mad at Vivien for sleeping with Noir and I somehow got caught in the middle of all this."

Genesis gently pried the can opener from Cloud's hands, setting it on the other side of the desk. "That happens to Sephiroth every time Angeal and I get into an argument. We know winning him over to our side will mean an automatic victory. Usually, I'm right." He paused for a moment. "Except when Sephiroth thinks Angeal is right. Then they're both wrong."

"It's hard, though," Cloud said, "being that person in the middle, because I'm going to make someone unhappy no matter what I do. And I _still_ don't know who was messing with my stuff, except it wasn't Vivien because he was with Noir."

Genesis stared at him for a moment, then asked, "Do you need a hug?"

Pouting, Cloud nodded.

Genesis stood up and held his arms out. Cloud shuffled forward on the desk to meet his embrace. "Listen; I know it's in that little heart of yours to try and solve everyone else's problems, but you don't have to," he murmured. "Forget Vivien and Eve and Noir and just focus on your mission tomorrow. It probably won't be any more difficult than the simulations you've done, so take the opportunity to do your best. Your swordsmanship is really starting to improve; I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, sir," Cloud mumbled into Genesis' chest.

"How about we go into town for a while? I'm craving some frozen yogurt."

* * *

"You all look as if you're on your way to a funeral," Noir mused. "Cheer up; this is your chance to prove that you're not _utter_ failures. Unless you are. Then perhaps you'll see sense and transfer to some other class so I won't have to deal with you anymore."

An icy breeze drifted across the helipad, making the three SOLDIERs to Cloud's right shiver in their boots. He acknowledged the cold, but wasn't bothered by it. Nibelheim forced its residents to endure some of the harshest winters on the planet.

"I hope we all die," Eve muttered through his chattering teeth.

Noir turned a condescending gaze on his younger brother. "That isn't very nice."

"I hope _you_ die."

"I am, unfortunately, somewhat immune to death. Is there anything anyone else would like to add before we depart?"

Silence.

"Good." Noir glanced down at his tablet. "I'm supposed to go over some safety regulations with you, but I've always been of the opinion that it's your own fault if you fall out of the helicopter. All aboard, kiddies."

Eve was on the helicopter before Noir even finished talking, with Jadak hot on his heels. Vivien lingered, looking like he wanted to say something to Noir, but hung his head and proceeded up the stairs. Cloud shuffled over to Noir.

"Um, sir? I-I don't know if anyone told you, but I, uh... I suffer from severe motion sickness."

"Motion sickness."

"Yes, sir."

Noir sighed. "In that case, you may sit with me. If you are feeling ill, we'll grab you someone's helmet to throw up in."

"Th-thank you, sir..." Cloud followed Noir up the steps and stopped short at the door. Besides the five of them, there were three SOLDIER Seconds and a Turk in the helicopter.

Noir noticed his confusion and whispered to him as they sat down. "I'm not allowed to leave Midgar on missions without supervision, and once we're out on the field, I won't be allowed to leave the helicopter. I haven't decided who I want to lead the mission yet; are you up for the challenge?"

Cloud sunk low in his seat and placed a hand over his stomach; he was starting to feel sick and they hadn't even taken off yet.

* * *

**A/N:** In the next chapter, Cloud's mother, Tifa, ADVENTURE, and a guy named Jack!

Thank you for reading!

**_RegenesisX_**


	16. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: ** In this chapter, we meet Jack, Cloud's mother, and Tifa, while the others cause problems. Also, Genesis makes plot decisions and Cloud figures out how to turn a happy moment into a depressing one.

* * *

**LEGACY**

_"So, how does it feel? To be home after all this time? I have no hometown, so I wouldn't know." ~ Sephiroth_

It was odd, to say the least, to be back in Nibelheim. The secluded, little mountain village was so vastly different from Midgar. The perky wooden houses and tufts of grass growing between the cracks in the cobblestone village square reminded Cloud of the warmth and _realness_ of his hometown. Midgar may have been an architectural masterpiece, but after living in its steel and blackness for several months, the sunlight was welcome.

"Huh," he said softly, trying to take in the entire village all at once. "Nothing's changed."

"Hmm?"

Cloud glanced over at Noir, who hadn't left his side since boarding the helicopter. "In Midgar, everything moves so fast. Businesses change, population changes, fashion trends change; even I've changed. But here..." He motioned to the clustered buildings around them. "Months have passed, and everything still looks exactly the same."

"There's something seductive about stagnancy, I've found," Noir mused. "It's easy to get lost in the idea of an idea and let the days gnaw at each other until you look back and wonder where they all went. But in Midgar, there are so many people vying for the same things that it's impossible to stand still, lest your competitor take the opportunity to pull the rug out from under you. That's what makes sleepy communities like this so fascinating, I imagine. Stagnancy is the core of their existence."

"Is Banora like that?"

"More or less. Mayor Rhapsodos certainly wasn't one to let problems go unattended for long, but a number of years passed before I was able to visit again, and the only new news was a marriage and a littler of kittens."

Despite the butterflies swarming in his stomach, Cloud chuckled. "We might have a pregnant cat, but that would be it."

"Just as well. I don't really like cats."

The pair of children playing tag in front of the water tower—Cloud recognized them from two doors down—paused, eying the gaggle of ShinRa personnel dubiously. It was to be expected, as there were a lot of them: Himself, Noir, Jadak, Vivien, Eve, the three Seconds, and the Turk. Cloud offered them a smile, but was unsure if the children even remembered him, since he'd never been particularly popular in the village. Granted, his hair was a little hard to forget.

The party trooped into the inn, where the Turk stepped up to the counter to make the room reservations with Mrs. Field, the innkeeper. Cloud had been afraid of her as a child, intimidated by her boisterous character and ample personage, but a spark of fondness flared up in his stomach when the woman broke out into a big grin upon spotting him.

"Cloud Strife!" she boomed. "Your mother didn't tell me you were visiting!"

"She doesn't know yet, actually. I only found out yesterday, so I didn't have any time to write."

Mrs. Field waddled out from behind the counter, elbowing the Turk out of her way. "Oh, she will be so surprised! She's missed you!"

Cloud squeaked when he was abruptly pulled to her chest in a bone-crushing hug. He struggled to find an angle for his head that didn't result in his face getting smothered by her bosom. Over her shoulder, he caught sight of Vivien trying to stifle his giggles. Cloud glared at him.

"Jack!" Mrs. Field yelled, her whole body seeming to vibrate. "Jack, get out here and attend to our guests! ..._Jack!"_

A loud banging echoed from the kitchen, followed by a string of curses. Cloud recognized the man who emerged from the back as the bellboy Mrs. Field had hired a few years ago. In a town full of blondes and brunettes, Jack's deep red hair was difficult to miss. As always, his uniform was stained and a chunk of hair was poking out of the long braid hanging down his back, but his face was bright and cheerful, as if he was having the best day of his life. Newcomers weren't always welcome in Nibelheim, but Jack got along with everyone.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Field, I was just—"

"Haven't I told you to stay out of the kitchen?"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Field, but your husband asked me to—"

Much to Cloud's relief, Mrs. Field released him to shake an admonishing finger at Jack. "I don't care what he asked you to do. You are to stay out of the kitchen, because bad things always seem to happen whenever you go in there."

Jack shrugged impishly, twirling the loose bit of hair around his index finger. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Field."

"Bah. Do not keep our guests waiting."

Jack began to step forward, only to stop short. The smile fell from his face and he furrowed his brow. It was only then that Cloud noticed how stricken Noir looked.

"Jack?" Noir choked out, voice trembling. "Jack Décès?"

"...Noir?"

For a moment, neither of them moved and no one spoke. Then Noir flung himself at Jack, clinging to him as if his life depended on it. A little snippet of conversation with Genesis flashed in Cloud's memory. _Jack Décès_..._ is Noir's and Eve's father?_

"You look so much like your mother," Jack murmured, to which Noir shook his head. Cloud couldn't hear his reply. "What are you doing here?"

Noir pulled back enough to speak. A few tears had leaked from his watering eyes, leaving wet streaks on his face. "I'm an instructor for SOLDIER. We're on a training mission."

"That's... That's great." Jack offered him a strained smile. "I'm really proud of you."

"You are?"

Jack's expression softened and he nodded. "Yeah, I am. If you're in SOLDIER, does that mean you're living in Midgar? Not with Gwen? What about Eve—how is he?"

Noir turned and pointed at Eve, who had inched his way towards the edge of the group and looked ready to bolt out the door. He froze when Jack's eyes landed on him.

"Eve?" Jack gasped, grinning wide enough to split his face in half. "You've gotten so tall! A-and you've grown up so beautiful. Goddess, I've missed you, Eve."

Eve stalked towards Jack, shouldering Vivien and one of the Seconds out of his way. He stopped in front of his father. "I've missed you, too, _Jack."_

The _pop!_ of Eve's bare hand meeting Jack's face set off a chain of frenzied commotion inside the inn. Jack staggered backwards in shock, the force of the blow having split his lip. Noir tackled Eve, pinning him to the floor by the throat, which caused Mrs. Field to shriek in terror. Two of the Seconds darted forward to haul Noir off of his brother, while Jadak and the Turk caught Eve when he tried to lunge for Noir.

"Try that again and I'll break every bone in your body," Noir snarled.

"Do you really think I care what you do anymore?"

It was then that Vivien stepped forward. He gently coaxed Noir away from the two Seconds and pulled him off to the side, speaking to him in a hushed tone. "That's not going to fix anything, okay? Just calm down."

Eve gave Vivien and Noir one last disgusted look before wrenching himself free and storming out of the inn.

Jack wiped his chin, leaving a bloody streak on his sleeve, and forced a smile. "Well. Shall I show you upstairs to your rooms?"

* * *

"Where are you going?"

Cloud paused in the doorway, looking back at Jadak. Eve and one of the Seconds were their other two roommates, but the Seconds had all congregated downstairs for lunch and Eve was still nowhere to be found. "I'm going to see my mother."

Jadak got up off the bed. "I'll come with you."

"You don't have to—"

"And stay cooped up in here? Not a chance." Jadak shot him a smirk, elbowing him on his way out of the room. "Besides, I'm curious to see what kind of woman something as pathetic as you popped out of."

"Hey! Don't insult my mom!"

A few more children had joined the two playing outside near the fountain. Cloud sucked in a deep breath, inhaling the crisp, mountain air. Now that he was home, he felt terribly homesick.

"Where did you grow up, Jadak?"

"Kalm."

"That's not too far from Midgar. Do you ever visit your mother?"

Jadak shook his head. "The only family I have worth visiting live in the ShinRa complex with me. What's the point in visiting someone who doesn't even want to see me?"

"So... why do you want to come with me to visit my mother?"

"You're family too, remember?"

"Oh, right."

The butterflies in Cloud's stomach had gone manic by the time he stepped up to his mother's door. The door to _his_ home. He raised his hand to knock, but a fleeting thought made him hesitate.

_What if I've changed too much?_

He was startled out of his thoughts when Jadak leaned over and knocked for him. "You're stupid, Brother."

A moment later, the door opened. He had a split second to take in her appearance—the familiar floral apron she wore when cooking, the wild hair that her ponytail barely managed to contain, her shimmering blue eyes—before she wrapped him up in a fierce hug.

"Cloud! Oh, my baby... What are you doing home?"

"We came here on a training mission; I just found out yesterday otherwise I would've written..."

"It's so good to see you," his mother blubbered. Cloud could tell she was just barely holding back her tears. "How is Midgar? Are they feeding you alright? I've read every single one of your letters a dozen times, but I want to hear everything from you. Do you have time to come in?"

"We aren't leaving until tomorrow morning." Cloud motioned to Jadak. "Mom, this is Jadak. He's my roommate."

His mother smiled warmly at Jadak and extended a hand. "It's very nice to meet you, Jadak," she said as they shook.

"You too, Ms. Strife."

"Well, I hope you boys are hungry, because I just finished making a pot of stew." Cloud's mother sighed, placing a hand on Cloud's cheek. "Oh, look at your eyes. Who would've thought they'd glow like that? They're so beautiful..."

Cloud blushed, glancing away. "Mom..."

"So, Cloud, have you found yourself a big city girlfriend yet?"

_"__Mom!"_

* * *

Angeal paused in the midst of explaining how Zack managed to get his shirt caught in the garbage disposal. Genesis was sitting at his desk, still staring listlessly at his computer. "Are you even listening?"

It took him a moment to drag himself out of his reverie. "Hmm? Oh. Yes, I'm listening. Something about trying to drain spaghetti?"

"Alright. What's the matter with you?" Angeal asked. "You've been like this since yesterday."

"...It's stupid."

"I'm your best friend. If you're not going to tell _me_ the stupid stuff, who else are you going to tell?"

Genesis sighed, remaining silent while he mulled over what he was going to say. Angeal waited patiently. "It's just a weird premonition, that's all."

"A premonition about what?"

"Cloud's gone off to Nibelheim on a training mission with Noir and some of his classmates. At first, I was a little upset because I wouldn't get to be there on his first mission, but now there's this... foreboding. Like I can't shake the idea that something bad is going to happen."

"Because of Noir?"

Genesis hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"I know Lazard shares you concerns about him out on the field," Angeal said. "He's watched like a hawk. If anything happens, we'll be notified."

"We'll be notified, but Nibelheim is so far away. It'll take hours to get there. If Noir wanted to burn down the village, he'd have it done in minutes."

Angeal didn't know Noir as well as Genesis did, nor did he want to, but the look in his friend's eyes told him that he wasn't exaggerating. Noir truly was a force to be reckoned with. "Why don't you go, then?"

"Huh?"

"If you're so worried, why don't you fly out there? I'm sure Lazard won't mind; he'd know _why_ you're doing it, at any rate."

"I don't want to cry 'wolf!' on Noir too many times, but... perhaps it's best."

* * *

"Hey, Mister! Did you know? The water inside the water tower is red, but it comes out clear. Isn't that weird?"

Noir glanced down at the child tugging on the hem of his coat, then up at the wooden water tower in the center of the village. "Fascinating."

Cloud watched as the child ran off to play with her friends, then he approached Noir. "I think somebody dropped something in there a long time ago, like a red gem. Nobody's fished it out yet because the red water makes a good story for the children."

"The innocence of a child is... precious." Noir was still staring at the water tower. "Did you visit your mother?"

"Jadak and I had lunch with her. She asked how I like SOLDIER, how Genesis is doing, if I have a girlfriend... It feels like years since I've seen her, not a few months."

"I'm glad you have a mother who asks you those things. If my mother was like that, perhaps I wouldn't be so..."

When Noir trailed off, Cloud bolstered the courage to ask the question that had been plaguing him all afternoon. "What happened?"

"For a long time, I hated Jack just as much as Eve did. I thought he'd abandoned us because he didn't love us, but as I got older, I started to realize why he left." He paused, then said, "Come take a walk with me."

Cloud obliged, following Noir up towards the path heading north out of the village.

"I often wonder if turning out this way could've been prevented, or if my fate was sealed from the very beginning," he said, "but it's easy enough to say my mother is responsible for creating the monster I've become."

"Your mother?"

"She's a monster too, but I different kind than I am. She's like a colorless, odorless gas; undetectable until it's too late. Her romance with Jack was quick, and within less than a year, she was pregnant. After I was born, I know Jack started to notice things about me." A breeze picked up, and Noir tugged his coat tighter around his shoulders. "It wasn't until I was older that I realized it wasn't my fits that drove him away, but my mother's response to them. She encouraged me to destroy things when I was angry."

Cloud hazarded a glance over at him. "Were you angry a lot?"

"I was always angry." Noir stopped, a faraway look coming into his eyes. "I remember once instance when I beat a neighbor child bloody for... some reason... and my mother just stood in the doorway of our house, watching. Every time I came home with bloody knuckles or a split lip or dirt on my clothes, my mom always cleaned me up and told me I was a good boy. And I believed her."

While Cloud had gotten into his fair share of squabbles with the neighborhood kids, his mother had always reprimanded him for his behavior. If Noir's violence had been encouraged, it was no wonder he was almost as heavily guarded as the President. "So, your father just... left?"

Noir nodded. "I used to blame him, like Eve does, but I don't anymore. He was only try to escape. Perhaps it was a selfish thing to do, but to watch someone with so much spirit get worn down to utter despair would've been more tragic. My only regret is that he didn't take Eve with him."

"You wouldn't have wanted to go?"

"Jack wouldn't have known what to do with me," Noir said. "My savior was someone else."

"Do you mean Genesis?"

"He was the first person to make me understand why what I was doing was wrong. I've always been a little disgusted by my actions from time to time and I'm still a heartless murderer, but I think now. I've learned how to weigh my consequences."

The next question slipped out before Cloud could catch himself. So much for thinking about consequences. "Why did you kill those Turks?"

Luckily, Noir did not make any moves to kill him. He met Cloud's gaze and said evenly, "I didn't kill them."

"B-But wasn't that the reason you were demoted?"

"That was the reason given, yes."

"Wait, if you didn't kill them then who did?"

_Was it the Wutaians? Did the rescue mission fail somehow?_

_...Surely Genesis wouldn't have..._

"While I wouldn't have minded blowing them to kingdom come along with everyone else, they were dead before I even arrived. You can ask around about the incident if you'd like, but I doubt you'll turn up anything. ShinRa and its people will do anything to cover up their mistakes."

Cloud's stomach turned sick and sludgy as he tried to come to a conclusion that didn't result in him throwing up the stew he'd just eaten. It couldn't have been Genesis. I _couldn't_ have. Noir was lying—purposefully misleading him. But what reason would Noir have to do that?

"Why didn't you tell anyone it wasn't you?" Cloud asked.

"No one would have believed me."

The water tower came into view once again as the path that they had taken wrapped back around to the village square. Vivien was out, chatting with one of the local boys. He was obviously flirting: giggling, grinning, and leaning just a little too close. When he caught sight of Cloud and Noir, however, he stiffened.

"I-Is it true, sir?" Cloud asked quietly. "That you were, um... y'know, _with_ Vivien?"

"He spent the night several times at my apartment, if that's what you're asking."

Cloud's cheeks burned. Sex was such an awkward topic for him. "Were things not going well?"

"I found Vivien's company to be very pleasant, but he wanted more from me than I'm able to give. He wanted someone to love him unconditionally, and I hate everyone."

"Do you hate Vivien?"

The question actually gave Noir pause. "...No, I suppose I don't. I'm indifferent towards him, if anything."

"We don't learn to love without trying, sir. If you just give up on Vivien because you don't love him _now,_ nothing is ever going to change. I couldn't do pushups correctly, but that didn't stop me from learning how."

Noir blinked. "Love is... like pushups?"

"Well, that's not exactly what I meant, but sure. Love is like pushups."

"If you ever chose to quit SOLDIER, you could apply for a job as an advice columnist. You'd be just as terrible."

Cloud fought the urge to stick his tongue out at him. "Vivien really likes you, sir."

Whatever Noir said in response was then lost on Cloud because his attention was captured by the three girls coming out of the general store. Or, more specifically, the tall brunette coming out of the general store. His heart raced as he watched her laugh at something one of the other girls said, breezily brushing her hair away from her face. _Tifa._

"Is that the girl? The brunette?" Noir asked. "The one you joined SOLDIER for?"

This time, Cloud flushed even deeper. "Y-Yeah. That's Tifa."

"Are you going to talk to her?"

He scuffed at the ground with his boot. "I don't know. I mean, I want to, but..." He recognized the blond girl as the one who spat gum in his hair when he was seven, and the other as the one who'd had a crush on him a few years ago.

"You've got a lot of nerve, trying to give me advice about my love life," Noir scoffed. Then he turned and strode confidently towards the girls.

"Wait! What are you doing?"

Cloud stayed rooted to the spot, wringing his hands. Noir wasn't really going to, was he? He hadn't prepared for this! Well, he'd been trying, except he hadn't come up with a good enough, "Hey Tifa, I made it into SOLDIER!" speech yet. The girls' laughter died as Noir approached. He stopped in front of Tifa and extended a hand. They exchanged words, then Noir turned to point across the road at Cloud. A wide smile spread across Tifa's face when their eyes met and she waved, breaking away from the group to jog towards him.

"Cloud!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. "It's so good to see you! I heard from your mom that you made it into SOLDIER—I'm so happy for you!"

"H-Hi, Tifa." Oh, Goddess, his jaw felt like it was wired shut. "H-How've you been?"

She pulled back, the smile never leaving her face. "I've been great. I started taking martial arts lessons from Zangan." She punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Think your SOLDIER training can stand up against me?"

Cloud raised his eyebrows. "Martial arts?"

"Yup!" Tifa gave the air a few jabs, then a spinning kick. "Pretty good, don't you think?"

"That's... great, Tifa," he replied, forcing a smile.

"But what about you? I want to hear all about what you've been doing in SOLDIER."

"He's been doing me, haven't you, darling?"

Cloud nearly groaned aloud as Vivien's arm slid around his waist. Of all the people who could have interrupted... "Something's wrong with you," he muttered, trying and failing to wiggle out of Vivien's grip.

"Even you can't deny our love, Cloud," Vivien chided. "Day and night, I yearn for your tender embrace..."

"Where do you even come up with this stuff?"

"I'm naturally prolific. Make love to me."

Cloud's struggles resulted in him stomping on Vivien's foot. He wasn't prepared for Vivien to release him, though, and tripped over his own feet. He could hear both Tifa and Vivien laughing from somewhere above him. His hands stung from hitting the cobblestone.

"I can see SOLDIER's done wonders for you, Cloud," Tifa teased good-naturedly.

Vivien shook his head slowly and sighed. "What _are_ we going to do with you, my darling?" He turned to Tifa, taking a step closer to her. "So, are you, um, doing anything later?"

"Hang on!" Cloud exclaimed. "I thought you were gay!"

"Did I say that?" Vivien slid his arm around Tifa's shoulders, pulling her towards the inn. "Why don't you show me what you country folks do for fun around here?"

Cloud scrambled to his feet, taking off after them. "Hey! Wait!"

_If Tifa can take care of herself now, does that mean... she doesn't need me?_

* * *

**A/N:** Next chapter, Cloud will get to mull over the idea that Genesis may have lied to him (again) and that Tifa might not need him anymore. Oh, and he'll get to go on that mission. Hopefully someone will remember to find Eve before they leave.

Thanks for reading!

**_RegenesisX_  
**


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